Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday vetoed House Bill 68, which sought to ban gender-affirming sponsorship of minors and restrict the participation of transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports, The Gateway Pundit reported.
House Bill 68 proposed banning doctors from providing gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, to transgender youth, and would ban sex reassignment surgeries for minors. It also sought to prevent transgender girls from competing in women's sports categories.
DeWine told reporters that a ban would “do more harm than good.”
“These are really complex issues, and reasonable people would draw vastly different conclusions,” DeWine said during a news conference on Friday. “This bill will affect a very small number of Ohio children, but for those children who face gender dysphoria, and for their families, the consequences could not be more profound.”
DeWine claimed that parents of “transgender” children told him that their children would have committed suicide without sex reassignment procedures.
“Ultimately, I think it's about protecting human life,” DeWine said. “Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived — and would have died today — if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio's children's hospitals.”
“I have also been told by those who are now adults that without this care, they would have committed suicide when they were teenagers,” DeWine continued.
Federal papers now state that DeWine appears to have received more than $40,000 from pro-trans hospitals.
Federalist Papers Report:
A review of donations from 2018 to 2023 reveals that the governor received a total of $40,300 from the Ohio Children's Hospital Association (OCHA), Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Nationwide Children's Hospital, and ProMedica Children's Hospital.
OCHA donated $10,000 to the Mike DeWine and Jon Husted Transition Fund on December 28, 2018, and another $10,000 on December 7, 2022, according to the report. This transition fund allows candidates to spend donations for “transition activities and inaugural ceremonies,” as described in Ohio's campaign finance manual.
OCHA affiliates, such as Cincinnati Children's and ProMedica, have also made significant contributions. Cincinnati Children's donated $300 on December 15, 2022, and ProMedica, another OCHA company, donated $10,000 in December 2018. Nationwide Children's, a third OCHA company, donated $5,000 in December 2018 and another $5,000 in January 2023 for the transition fund.
Cincinnati Children's and Nationwide Children's hospitals offer gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, with no specific age limits for patients.
Oh, and did you look at that! The Ohio Children's Hospital Association gave DeWine $20,000.
How nice of him to veto a bill that would have cost “gender affirming” children’s hospitals millions of dollars. pic.twitter.com/SDbBl2bxHe
– Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) December 29, 2023
Oh, and then there are the “Friends of Ohio Hospitals” who sent DeWine more than $40,000.
Friends of Ohio Hospitals is funded by senior staff, lobbyists and major political action committees at many major hospitals in Ohio and across the country.
Maybe they may have some financial interests? pic.twitter.com/d3fbG9kk8s
– Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) December 29, 2023
President Trump criticized DeWine's decision on Truth Social.
DeWine has fallen into the hands of the radical left. No wonder he gets booed loudly in Ohio every time I introduce him at rallies, but I won't introduce him anymore. I'm done with this “cruel”. What was he thinking? The bill would have stopped the mutilation of children and banned men from playing women's sports. We hope that the Legislative Council will overturn. Do it fast!!!”
