(The Center Square) – The sponsor of Ohio’s new law that bans transgender health care for minors says he’s not surprised the ACLU of Ohio plans to file a lawsuit to stop the ban.
Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, also says the group makes up rights and believes Ohio’s law will stand.
“The announcement of the ACLU lawsuit comes without surprise,” Click said in a statement. “They have a storied history of inventing fictitious rights while opposing actual rights such as those enshrined in the SAFE Act. Children have a right to grow up intact.”
As previously reported by The Center Square, the ACLU announced Monday a planned federal lawsuit to block the law that is expected to go into effect April 23 after the General Assembly voted to override the veto of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
House Bill 68 blocks gender-affirming care for minors, including surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy.
The ACLU said hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria in youth is evidence-based, medically necessary, and backed by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“Ohio’s law is an unconscionable attack on transgender youth and their families,” said Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the ACLU. “Gender-affirming health care is safe, effective and necessary. We are prepared to go to court and defend the rights and dignity of transgender youth with every tool available.”
Click called gender-affirming care a slogan and not science and says the ACLU is fighting against parents.
“It is unfathomable that a so-called civil rights organization would sue for the right to sterilize children, amputate healthy body parts, cause irreversible damage and set children on a path to an increased risk of suicide without parental consent,” Click said. “Parents have a right to be free from counselors who groom their children without consent. Families should never fear losing custody of their children for not consenting to superstitious gender ideology. Nevertheless, this is what the ACLU is fighting for. It is no wonder so many refer to it as the Anti-Civil Liberties Union.”
DeWine issued the veto in late December and a week later issued an executive order that banned transgender surgeries on minors and developed transgender health care rules for children and adults.
The rules include protections for adults and children receiving transgender care in the state hospitals that would stop what DeWine called “fly-by-night” providers or clinics giving out medications without quality care.
They would also require multi-disciplinary teams at hospitals to provide support care, including psychiatrists and a comprehensive plan of the risks associated with the treatment and required mental health counseling.
The Senate completed the veto override Jan. 24.
