COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A bill banning transgender minors from receiving certain healthcare and prohibiting transgender girls from taking part in female athletics is headed to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk. 

House Bill 68 — the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation” and the “Save Women’s Sports” acts — was approved with a vote of 24 to 8 in the Senate Wednesday afternoon after advancing through the Oversight Committee earlier in the day. Although H.B. 68 passed the House of Representatives in June, the legislation returned late on Wednesday and passed again 61 to 27 to concur with amendments made in the Senate.

The legislation received widespread backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates, medical professionals, parents and Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) who urged opponents “not to give up” until “all Ohioans are treated with dignity, treated with respect.”

“Our young people have so many different types of trials and trauma that they have to deal with and, unfortunately, this legislature is going to add an additional trauma to that, and for that, I apologize,” said Hicks-Hudson during Wednesday’s committee hearing. “But, understand, the battle is not over.”

More than 610 opponents testified against H.B. 68, while 56 testified in favor. Still, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said the bill “is a good piece of legislation” and claimed “a significant majority of Ohioans support this.”

“We don’t make laws just for the hundreds of people that come and testify, we make laws for over 11 million people,” said Huffman. “If only the people who came to the Statehouse, if we only considered what they thought and not what people told us when they were in our districts — through media, local media and things like that — well, the lobbyists would have a lot of sway in what happens.”

DeWine now has 10 business days to sign or veto the bill.

The ‘SAFE’ Act

The “Save Adolescents from Experimentation” Act would bar healthcare professionals from providing treatment known as gender-affirming care, like hormone replacement therapy and reconstructive surgery, to trans children in the state. Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), the bill’s primary sponsor, argues Ohioans under the age of 18 are “incapable of providing the informed consent necessary to make those very risky and life-changing decisions.”

“What we’re just simply saying is, let kids grow up,” said Click, who reintroduced the bill in February after the legislation failed to pass Ohio’s General Assembly last year.

During Wednesday’s hearing, legislators amended the bill to include a grandfather clause that permits a physician “under specified circumstances” to continue prescribing puberty-blocking drugs to a minor after the bill’s effective date. In addition, a provision was added requiring a mental health professional to obtain the consent of at least one parent or guardian before diagnosing or treating a minor with a “gender-related condition.”

President of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association Nick Lashutka testified against the bill during a Dec. 7 hearing and said the legislation “uses false information to strip away parental rights and impose non-scientific restrictions on pediatric healthcare specialists.” Lashutka said the state’s children’s hospitals follow standards of care to ensure effective care, and clinicians who provide gender-affirming care are no exception.

Children’s hospitals in Ohio “do not perform any surgeries on minors for the condition of gender dysphoria,” Lashutka noted, and said each patient within the gender clinic undergoes a rigorous mental health assessment to determine if the clinic is the right place for them.

Lashutka noted, that throughout the past 10 years, Ohio’s children’s hospitals have served about 3,300 individuals whose first appointment at a gender clinic took place when they were under the age of eighteen. The average age at their first appointment was 16 years old. Of those 3,300 individuals, only 7% were prescribed a puberty blocker and only 35% were prescribed hormones.

“While the majority of patients are never prescribed medication as minors, those who do take medication consider it lifesaving and crucial,” said Lashutka. “It is a dangerous precedent for government to dictate when medication is appropriate in pediatrics.”

However, Elizabeth McIntosh, a family medicine physician from Johnstown, echoed the bill’s sponsor during a Nov. 29 hearing and said neuroscience suggests the teenage brain is not mature enough to make such decisions. McIntosh noted several lawsuits, including by Chloe Cole, an 18-year-old from California who is suing Kaiser Permanente for a gender-affirming surgery that was performed when she was a teenager.

“If reaching maturity is essential for informed, responsible consent to sexual activity, it is essential for informed, responsible consent to procedures that affect sexuality and sexual organs,” said McIntosh.

The ‘Save Women’s Sports’ Act

Lawmakers amended H.B. 68 to include House Bill 6, the “Save Women’s Sports” Act, to prohibit trans girls from taking part in female athletics and override the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s trans student-athlete policy. Nineteen trans girls — 10 in middle school and nine in high school — have participated in girls’ sports since the OHSAA’s policy was implemented eight years ago.

The OHSAA, which said about 400,000 athletes in grades 7-12 participate in its sanctioned sports each school year, asserts its policy is effective in protecting the integrity of girls’ sports while also providing participation opportunities for trans students.

Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) and 30 Republican co-sponsors reintroduced the bill in February after the legislation also failed to pass Ohio’s General Assembly last year. Powell said 21 other states have passed a similar bill and argues the legislation will facilitate fair competition.

“All that girls are asking for is a fair shot, and to be given the chance to play and win by the rules in the sports that they love,” Powell said. “That opportunity is being ripped from them by biological males.”

If signed into law by DeWine, H.B. 68 would allow an athlete to sue for relief or damages if they are “deprived” of an athletic opportunity by a trans girl, and prohibit a government or athletic association from taking action against schools that enforce the ban. 

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines spoke in favor of the bill during a Nov. 29 proponent hearing, testifying she competed against Lia Thomas, a trans swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA swimming championships. When the two tied for fifth place, Gaines claimed NCAA officials opted to award the trophy to Thomas.

“The female athletes who objected to Thomas’ participation in women’s swimming were told to remain silent,” said Gaines. “Lia Thomas was not a one-off. Across the country and across various sports, female athletes are losing not only titles and awards to males but also roster spots and opportunities to compete.”

Mallory Golski, the civic engagement and advocacy manager for Kaleidoscope Youth Center and youth swim coach, said it is “disheartening to see this being pushed through,” and “there are real Ohioans who are really impacted by these bills and they feel it every day.”

“I know young people are worried about how will this affect my mental health, I know young people are worried about how will this impact my ability to stay in Ohio,” said Golski. “Young people shouldn’t have to worry about these things.”