Ohio bans 'gender-affirming care' for minors, restricts transgender athletes despite GOP governor veto
The new law bans sex reassignment surgeries and hormone therapies for children under 18
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ohio has banned "gender-affirming care" for minors and restricted transgender women and girls from participating in sports teams.
The state's Republican-dominated Senate voted to override Republican Governor Mike DeWine's veto of the bill.
The new law bans sex reassignment surgeries and hormone therapies for transgender individuals under 18. The measure also bans transgender girls and women from girls and women’s sports teams at both the K-12 and collegiate level, according to the Associated Press.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ohio has become the 24th state to have restrictions on transgender athletes.
TRANSGENDER GOLFER AGREES MEN HAVE PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES OVER WOMEN
Ohio has banned gender-affirming care for people under the age of 18. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Arkansas and Tennessee were the first two states to put limits on transgender medical treatments for minors back in 2021.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At least 22 states have now passed laws restricting or banning sex reassignment treatment for transgender minors. Those include the majority of the states in the South as well as a handful of states in the Midwest.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the US, 35% of transgender youth live in states that have passed bans on transgender medical treatment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}People take part in a rally on the occasion of the International Transgender Day of Visibility in the city center of Rome, Italy, on April 1, 2023. (Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In Florida, health care providers may be charged with a felony for sex reassignment treatments. The state ban also allows minors who were receiving puberty blocking or hormone therapies to continue with treatment.
Former President Donald Trump said he would make transgender medical treatments illegal if elected to the White House again.
DeWine also received backlash from his own party for his decision. He explained that his opinion on the matter is one of "pro-life."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WASHINGTON BILL TO ALLOW MEDICAL TRANSGENDER INTERVENTIONS ON MINORS WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT
People gather in support of transgender youth during a rally at the Utah State Capitol, on Jan. 24, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
"Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life. Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today, if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio's children's hospitals," DeWine said. "I've also been told by those who are now grown adults that but for this care, they would have taken their life when they were teenagers."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Advocates for transgender people march from the South Dakota governor's mansion to the Capitol in Pierre, South Dakota, on March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves, File)
Ohio's law is expected to take effect in roughly 90 days.
Fox News' Ryan Morik and The Associated Press contributed to this story.