The Ohio Senate is poised this week to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R-OH) veto of legislation that would ban puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatments for minors with gender dysphoria.
A spokesperson for the office of Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman confirmed for the Washington Examiner that the question of overturning DeWine’s veto would be brought to the floor on Wednesday during the first Senate session of 2024.
The move from the legislature would go a step further than DeWine’s executive order earlier this month, which prohibited physicians from treating minors with gender transition surgeries, such as mastectomies or vaginoplasties.
In December, the Buckeye State legislature passed HB 68, which would prohibit medical intervention for minors with gender dysphoria and require transgender athletes to play on teams matching their biological sex. The initial bill passed with a veto-proof majority of over 70% support in both chambers.
Earlier this month, the House overrode DeWine’s veto of the measure in an emergency session, returning to the legislature nearly two weeks before originally scheduled. The state Senate is to convene on Wednesday.
DeWine said in vetoing the measure that it was too much of a government overreach into a private decision between families and their physicians. Although he said he agreed with certain aspects of limiting transgender healthcare, he argued several aims of the bill would better be satisfied through regulation.
One week after his veto, DeWine issued an executive order banning transgender surgeries for minors and announced requirements for mental health evaluations for patients of all ages before receiving gender transition medical treatment.
The guidance from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services requires all patients seeking gender transition medicine to receive “comprehensive mental health evaluation and counseling over a period of not less than six months.”
The new rules also require that providers have “a written, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary care plan” that is “reviewed by a medical ethicist” prior to a patient receiving care.
If successfully passed over DeWine’s veto, the law will prohibit any medical treatment other than psychological counseling for gender dysphoria in minors.
The text of the bill states there are several mental health comorbidities to gender dysphoria, such as complex trauma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.
DeWine has been sharply criticized by both sides of the partisan spectrum for his attempt to moderate the legislation through executive regulation, with strong conservative support for the legislature to override the veto.
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Ohio derided DeWine’s executive order as “a dangerous escalation and unfounded effort to control Ohioans’ bodies, lives, and futures.”
The ACLU is also lobbying its supporters to contact the state Senate, urging a no-vote in the veto override efforts.
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“Important medical decisions should remain between youths, their families, and medical providers — not our politicians,” the ACLU’s appeal reads.
Any override vote in the Ohio Senate requires a three-fifths majority to overturn a governor’s veto, equating to 20 votes. There are 26 Republicans in office.
