OHIO REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR DEWINE VETOES ANTI-TRANSGENDER BILL HB 68

(New York, NY, December 29, 2023) — Today GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, responded to news that Republican governor Mike DeWine of Ohio vetoed Sub. HB 68, which would have banned essential health care for transgender youth and prohibited them from school sports. The bill passed the state legislature on December 13.

The veto comes after Governor DeWine said he was visiting hospitals around Ohio, speaking with transgender youth, their families and their health care providers, as well as reviewing testimony from statehouse hearings on the bill. DeWine joins other governors in recent months and years who have publicly opposed anti-LGBTQ and especially anti-transgender attacks proposed in state legislatures around the country, including in Indiana, Utah, and Arkansas. 

GLAAD’s President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her), released the following statement in response to the news:

“The governor’s veto shows he listened to families, providers and all Ohioans who know this bill is harmful and baseless. Transgender people, like all of us, deserve to live free from discrimination, in dignity and happiness. Trans youth deserve to grow up in a state that sees, hears and supports them. This veto is a small measure of understanding that facts matter, that all families are valued, and that Ohio is a place where common sense and compassion should always win.”

Gov. DeWine, in announcing his veto this morning, noted that he met with parents and families about their lives and the care they depend on to live.

“The consequences could not be more profound… I believe this is about protecting human life. Parents told me their child would be dead today if not for the care they received from Ohio’s children’s hospitals… Parents are making decisions about the most precious thing in their life, their child, and none of us should underestimate the gravity and difficulty of those decisions. These are gut wrenching decisions that should be made by parents, informed by teams of doctors advising them. These tough decisions should not be made by the government, by the state of Ohio. They should be made by the parents, not the state of Ohio.”

Additional research:

• Every major medical association supports health care for transgender people and youth: statements here.

• Factsheet from GLAAD and Equality Ohio to report accurately and inclusively on LGBTQ people and their health care
• According to Equality Ohio, 585 people submitted testimony opposing HB 68 since it was introduced, compared to only approximately 40 supporters of the bill, many of whom were not from Ohio.
• After the bill passed, Equality Ohio reported that emails and calls poured into Gov. DeWine’s office, filling two voice mailboxes over several days; and engagement among followers on Equality Ohio’s Instagram increased by 300%.