Republican Governor Faces Conservative Fury for Vetoing Anti-Trans Bill
Mike DeWine is being criticized by fellow conservatives after he vetoed legislation on Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, as well as transgender athletes' participation in female sports.DeWine, a Republican, vetoed House Bill 68 which reached his desk on December 18 after being approved by the State Legislature.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Representative Gary Click, is not completely dead as Republicans still hold enough seats to override the veto should they revisit the legislation and vote in lockstep.In a statement provided by DeWine's office to Newsweek, the governor cited conversations with Click and other lawmakers; physicians and counselors who provide gender-affirming care at five state hospitals; physicians who advocate for pausing such care until more research becomes available; and youth and parents who have personally had positive and negative experiences with such care, as reasoning for his ultimate decision."Were I to sign House Bill 68, or were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, the government, knows better [and] what is medically best for a child than the two people who leave that child the most: the parents," DeWine said during a press conference on Friday.He added that while there are rare times when states overrule parents' medical decisions, DeWine said he could not think of examples where the decision is not only against the parents but against the judgments of physicians and medical experts."It is very important that we all remember that all those on each side of this issue truly and sincerely believe their position best protects children," DeWine said in his statement. "These are truly complex issues, and reasonable people can draw vastly different conclusions."This bill would impact a very small number of Ohio children.
But, for those children who face gender dysphoria and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound.
