Columbus, Ohio — Two families of transgender minors filed a constitutional challenge Tuesday to an Ohio law that severely limits gender-affirming health care for youth under the age of 18.
The lawsuit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and global law firm Goodwin, alleges that the law — which was enacted in January after lawmakers overrode a veto from Republican Gov. Mike DeWine – denies the health of transgender young people. care and specifically discriminates against its access.
The legislation in question includes a ban on transgender surgeries and hormone therapies for minors unless they are already receiving such therapies and it is considered a risk to stop by a doctor, as well as restrictions on the type of mental health care a minor can receive.
It also banned the participation of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. The lawsuit says the combination of the two bans violates Ohio’s one-subject rule for bills.
Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson said the new law “will cause serious harm to transgender youth.”
“These personal, private medical decisions should remain between families and physicians; they do not belong to politicians,” she said in a statement. “HB 68 violates the Ohio Constitution in several ways. We will fight in court to ensure that trans youth and their parents have access to critical, life-saving health care without government intervention.”
DeWine vetoed the bill on Dec. 29 after traveling around the state to visit children’s hospitals and talk to families of children with gender dysphoria. He called his action thoughtful, limited and “pro-life” — citing the suicide risks associated with not getting proper treatment for gender dysphoria.
DeWine simultaneously announced plans to administratively ban transgender surgeries until a person is 18, and to allow the state to better regulate and monitor gender-affirming treatments on both children and adults — a move he hoped would address concerns of fellow Republicans that ruling would take away. the Ohio Statehouse. But the government quickly backed away from that plan after transgender adults raised serious concerns about how government regulations could affect their lives and health.
Ohio became the 23rd state to ban gender-affirming health care for trans youth, as Republican state lawmakers look to counter a trend they see as dangerous for children. Ohio lawmakers held firm on the bill after DeWine’s veto and easily overrode it.
The families who filed a lawsuit Tuesday — under the anonymous surnames Moe and Goe — asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the bans from being enforced on April 24, when they officially go into effect, and to declare the law unconstitutional.
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Samantha Hendrickson is a staff member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.