DeWine argued that it would prevent parents from making crucial medical decisions for their trans-identified children.
"Many parents have told me that their child would be dead today if they had not received the treatment they received from an Ohio children's hospital. Were I to sign Substitute House Bill 68 or were Substitute House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the State, that the government, knows what is best medically for a child rather than the two people who love that child the most, the parents," DeWine stated.
He subsequently signed an executive order in the first week of 2024, banning sex-change surgeries for minors while still permitting the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
However, Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative nonprofit legal organization, criticized the executive order for failing to protect the children of Ohio.
"Let's be crystal clear: Growing evidence shows that the long-term use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones hurts a child's physical, emotional, and psychological development in ways that we still don't understand. The governor's move also fails to address the ongoing issues of males competing in women's sports, depriving female athletes in Ohio of opportunities they have worked their whole lives to achieve," he argued.
The bill, which includes the Save Women's Sports Act and the Saving Adolescents From Experimentation Act, prohibits the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children and bans males who identify as females from participating in female athletics. It also restricts medical professionals from performing surgeries on minors undergoing gender transition.
State Representative Melanie Miller, a Republican from Ashland, praised the decision: "This was a vote to protect women and children. We must protect our children from making life-altering decisions at such an early age – decisions that they will never be able to reverse. Moms and dads always need to be a part of these critical decisions. When it comes to women's athletics, this vote ensures that females can compete on a level playing field and not against biological males."
Members of the Ohio Senate are expected to cast their votes on the veto override on Jan. 24.
DeWine has received over $40,000 from hospitals supporting genital mutilation for children
The governor's unusual stance, which was labeled by Sharp as a "betrayal to children, families and women throughout Ohio," is likely due to the financial support he received from children's hospitals that profit from transgender medical care.
According to donation records from 2018 to 2023, DeWine received a total of over $40,000 in donations from children's hospitals supporting transgender medical care.
For instance, the Ohio Children's Hospital Association gave $10,000 in 2018 and another $10,000 in 2022. ProMedica, which donated $10,000 in 2018, has an LGBTQ+ advisory council to promote inclusivity in healthcare, especially for transgender patients.
Nationwide Children's Hospital donated $5,000 in 2018 and another $5,000 in 2023. This hospital houses the THRIVE Gender Development Program, providing services like gender-affirming medications and inclusive reproductive healthcare.
