Ohio’s Republican governor vetoes trans care restriction and sports ban
Ohio’s governor vetoed a bill that would have restricted both transition-related care for minors and transgender girls’ participation on school sports teams.
Ohio’s governor vetoed a bill Friday that would have restricted both transition-related care for minors and transgender girls’ participation on school sports teams.
Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto makes him one of only two Republican governors to veto a restriction on gender-affirming care, alongside then-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2021, and one of only three Republican governors to veto a trans athlete bill after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb last year.
In a news conference on Friday after his veto, DeWine said the “gut-wrenching” decision about whether a minor should have access to gender-affirming care “should not be made by the government, should not be made by the state of Ohio,” rather it should be made by the child’s parents and doctors.
Before vetoing the bill, DeWine told The Associated Press that he had visited three children’s hospitals in the state to learn more about transition-related care and spoke to families who were both helped and harmed by it.
“We’re dealing with children who are going through a challenging time, families that are going through a challenging time,” he said. “I want, the best I can, to get it right.”
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