ACLU Calls Ohio Governor’s Ban of Trans Surgeries for Minors ‘Dangerous’

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio has condemned Governor Mike DeWine’s recent signing of Executive Order-01D, which bans gender transition surgeries for minors at any hospital or ambulatory surgical facility in the Buckeye State.

The restrictions would prohibit most primary care providers from providing hormone treatments to transgender people of any age, enforce a list of cumbersome requirements unfounded by medical evidence, and threaten to shut down care across the state.

— ACLU of Ohio (@acluohio) January 8, 2024

“In one fell swoop, these proposals could threaten the lives and well-being of transgender youth and adults across the state and needlessly insert politicians and bureaucracy between them and their doctors,” the ACLU said in a statement on Monday. “This is a dangerous escalation and unfounded effort to control Ohioans’ bodies, lives, and futures. In the interest of protecting transgender people’s lives and their fundamental right to self-determination, these radical and life-threatening proposals must not be allowed to move forward.”

The ACLU then referenced the recent passing on Issue 1, an amendment to the state’s constitution that allows for late-term abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, to further express its disapproval of the governor’s Executive Order.

“Ohio voters just made clear at the ballot box that government officials should not be involved in private healthcare decisions; these matters should be left to families and doctors, not politicians,” the organization added.

J. Bennett Guess, the ACLU Ohio’s Executive Director (pictured above) celebrated the Governor’s initial veto, writing, in part the move was, “A huge, critically important victory for trans lives in Ohio!”

The ACLU said it plans to file a public comment with an additional policy analysis to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction and the Ohio Department of Health as the entities develop rules to enforce the governor’s Executive Order.

DeWine’s Executive Order came a week after he vetoed House Bill 68, a combination of the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act.

While DeWine’s executive order bans surgeries for minors, it does not ban other gender-affirming care for minors, including prescribed cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers, as House Bill 68 would.

Ohio GOP state lawmakers are expected to override the governor’s veto of the bill this week, according to State Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery), the bill’s original sponsor.

The ACLU is actively campaigning against the impending veto override, as the organization has set up a website assisting Ohioans in emailing state legislators requesting they vote against any efforts to override DeWine’s veto.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.