Ohio’s legislature banned minors from undergoing transition-related medical procedures, overriding the governor’s veto

Last December, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) vetoed a Republican-led bill to ban minors from undergoing transition-related medical procedures

The bill would have banned Ohioans under the age of 18 from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or transition-related surgery

It also would have banned trans women from competing in women’s sports

“Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life,” DeWine said at the time, citing parents who told him their child would “not be alive today” if they hadn’t received transition-related care

Democrats praised DeWine’s veto as a defense of trans rights; many Republicans criticized it, arguing the bill sought to protect children

Republicans vowed to override DeWine’s veto, a procedure which requires a 3/5 vote in both houses of Ohio’s legislature

“[We have] an obligation to prevent parents from harming their children,” one Republican said

Last December, DeWine said no minors in the state were receiving transition-related surgery, calling the notion that they were “a fallacy”

Yet early this month, in what many analysts saw as a compromise, he passed an executive order banning transition-related surgery for minors

Despite that, Republicans pressed on with their attempts to override DeWine’s December veto

Earlier this month, Ohio’s House voted 65-28 to override the veto; on Wednesday, Ohio’s Senate deliberated on the bill

Several Republicans argued that the bill would protect children and that gender is binary, not fluid; several Democrats argued the bill would lead to the deaths of more trans children

The Senate ultimately voted 23-9 to override the veto, meaning the bill will become law in 90 days

The bill includes a grandfather clause allowing minors already receiving transition-related procedures to keep doing so, although that clause doesn’t apply to out-of-state patients

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