Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday issued an executive order prohibiting gender-affirming surgeries on minors in Ohio and set forth draft administrative rules around gender-affirming care in minors and adults one week after he vetoed House Bill 68, which would restrict any gender-affirming care for minors in Ohio.
DeWine made the announcement at a news conference after Republicans in the legislature said they would reconvene next week to override the governor's veto.
"A week has gone on by and I still feel just as firmly," DeWine said about vetoing H.B. 68.
You can watch the news conference in the player below:
During the news conference, DeWine set forth the following draft administrative rules to be discussed by legislators:
- "The requirement of a multi-disciplinary team to support an individual through care, including but not limited to an endocrinologist, a bioethicist, and a psychiatrist."
- "The requirement of a comprehensive care plan that includes sufficient informed consent from patients and parents — if we're dealing with the child — of the risk associated with treatment, and the requirement of comprehensive and lengthy mental health counseling prior to being considered for any other treatment."
While H.B. 68 applies only to gender-affirming care for youth, DeWine said he issued these orders to prevent "fly-by-night" operations from dispensing medication to children or adults without first providing psychiatric care and evaluation in Ohio.
The Ohio Department of Health is also filing rules Friday for public comment to require healthcare providers to report "de-identified data" on cases of gender dysphoria and subsequent treatments.
"In plain English, no one will be able to look at the data and tell who it is," DeWine said. "We do this all the time to protect privacy."
In addition, an executive order was signed Friday by DeWine to enact emergency rules that ban gender transition surgeries for minors at any hospital in Ohio.
"This will ensure surgeries of this type on minors can ever happen in Ohio," DeWine said. "I know that is one of the concerns that has been expressed. I never disagreed with that. If we look at what evidence there is, there's very little that that is occurring, but let's make sure. That's what this does."
He has never heard of a trans minor getting gender-affirming surgery in the state, and no one brought it up to him during his information-gathering period with hospitals and families, he added.
"I think it's a good way to take this issue off the table and assure everyone that there are not surgeries going on with minors," he said. "Let's put that into a law so we can move on."
Aaron Demlow is grateful for DeWine’s veto, but is worried about the plans.
"Some other things he said in the press conference gave me a little bit of pause," Demlow, a trans man, said. "I'm a little concerned with increasing surveillance and for gatekeeping, even for trans adults."
He believes that needing so many different doctors could prevent people from getting access and is worried the data could be used maliciously.
"It's just very concerning to me," he said.
On the other side, state Rep. Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) isn't impressed with DeWine’s plans.
"This is not going to stop an override," Bird said. "This has not changed in any way my mind."
The governor isn’t thinking about families, Bird said, who he says are making decisions before the child knows who they are. He also slammed the governor, adding that his veto has caused national GOP disagreement.
Former president Donald Trump, members of Congress, and even DeWine's second in command — Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted — spoke out against it.
"I don't believe that he is with Republicans on this issue; I'm not sure where he's coming from," Bird said. "His veto has been roundly criticized."
But for DeWine, he isn't phased.
"How do you feel about the backlash you've been facing from your own party?" Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau asked.
"How I feel about it?" DeWine said with a smile. "Look, I made the decision — it was the right decision... I had comments from people before. I fully expected it."
Last week, DeWine vetoed House Bill 68, saying, “Were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is medically best for a child better than the two people who love the child the most - the parents,” DeWine said, adding, “I cannot sign this bill as it currently written and just a few minutes ago, I vetoed the bill.”
RELATED: Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoes bill banning care for trans youth
The bill would prohibit gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary youth, including hormone blockers, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), medical or surgical procedures and some mental health services. In addition to banning gender-affirming care for trans children, it would prohibit trans athletes from taking part in women's sports.
H.B. 68 was introduced by state Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery). Lawmakers in favor of the bill argue that trans teens don’t know what they really want, and their parents and doctors are pressured to approve of this healthcare.
Now that DeWine has vetoed the bill, lawmakers could override it with a three-fifths vote in the House and Senate.
Earlier this week, Trau reported that the Ohio House is returning from their winter vacation early to attempt to override the veto.
Watch last week's press conference below:
