(The Center Square) – Ohio Senate Democrats continue to push back against rules to stop health care for minors, even though a new law banning the action takes effect in April.
In their public comments to Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, seven Democratic senators said if Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed rules go into effect, health and lives of transgender Ohioans would be in danger.
“If allowed to take effect, we believe the rules will lead to poor health outcomes and possible loss of life, which is antithetical to the rules’ intended purpose to improve the provision of quality health care to trans Ohioans,” the group said. “We also believe that many trans Ohioans’ identities will be revealed to the detriment of their personal safety and well-being.”
DeWine issued a transgender surgery ban on minors in early January after vetoing a bill that would do the same thing in late December.
He also issued several proposed rules for the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Mental Health in Addiction.
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.
The rules 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.
“Even if the proposed standards aligned with the evidence-based standards agreed upon by every credible medical organization in the United States and across the globe, there is neither a constitutional nor statutory basis upon which to promulgate the standards or adopt rules that prohibit, restrict, or unduly burden access to transgender medical services and health care in Ohio,” Democrats said. “The proposed rules are an excessive overreach of the rule-making process.
The General Assembly voted late last month to override DeWine’s veto, establishing the ban and a single-sex athletic teams as a state law that is expected to go into effect April 23.
The ACLU of Ohio has said it plans to a lawsuit to block the law from going into effect.
