COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, casting the action out of step with many in his own party as thoughtful, limited and "pro-life."
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors and transgender athletes’ participation in girls and women’s sports, in a break from members of his party who championed the legislation.
He simultaneously announced plans to move to administratively ban transgender surgeries until a person is 18, and to position the state to better regulate and track gender-affirming treatments in both children and adults.
At a news conference, DeWine said he hoped the hybrid approach could win the support of legislative Republicans — who immediately signaled they're considering a veto override — as well as serve as a national model to states, as gender-affirming care restrictions enacted across the country in recent years face lawsuits.
The vetoed bill also would have banned transgender athletes' participation in girls' and women's sports.
DeWine said he listened to people on both sides of the legislation who all "sincerely and truly believe their position best protects children," ultimately deciding he could not support legislation that bans healthcare so many patients, families and doctors told him is saving lives.
"Ultimately, these tough, tough decisions should not be made by the government. They should not be made by the state of Ohio," DeWine said. "They should be made by the people who love these kids the most, and that's the parents. The parents who have raised that child, the parents who have seen that child go through agony, the parents who worry about that child every single day of their life."
The governor's veto drew swift rebukes Friday from supporters of gender-affirming care bans, both in the state and nationally.
Republican Bernie Moreno, a Trump-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, and Center for Christian Virtue President Aaron Baer both called on the Legislature to override his veto.
"Mike DeWine has failed Ohio, and it's our children who are going to pay the price," Baer said in a statement.
Terry Schilling, president of the conservative American Principles Project, said in a statement that DeWine had succumbed to "egregious lies" being perpetuated about transgender care. He said history would remember that DeWine "gave into cowardice and caved to the transgender industry that is preying on so many vulnerable individuals."
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Republican state Rep. Gary Click, the bill's sponsor, commended DeWine for trying to wrap his mind around a complex problem in a short amount of time. He defended his own years of research on the bill, and said he was particularly disappointed that the ban on transgender girls playing sports could be sidelined if non-legislative solutions were pursued on gender-affirming care.
Republican Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens said the chamber was weighing its options with regard to overriding the veto.
House Democrats said the legislation was based on hate and DeWine's veto supported "fundamental freedom" and parental rights. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ+ rights organization, thanked DeWine for "doing the right thing for young trans Ohioans."
It was a moment of relief for Alicia and Aaron Burkle, parents from Cleveland to Astrid, a 10-year-old transgender girl. The family had been looking into options -- even considering leaving Ohio -- if gender-affirming care was banned. Since the legislation reached his desk, they, along with their friends and family, have been calling and emailing their concerns.
"It's just been constant action," Alicia Burkle said. "So to just sit down and listen to his message and hear that he actually listens to families like ours and heard our stories -- it actually sounded like he listened."
It's not a complete win, though, Aaron Burkle said: "We're breathing a sigh of relief today, but there's already been a lot of damage done to our community, to families like ours. And we know that this issue is not yet completely resolved."
The vetoed bill would have prohibited Ohio minors from receiving gender reassignment surgery, but also from taking puberty blockers or undergoing other hormone therapies. It would have allowed those already undergoing treatments to continue, however.
DeWine directed state agencies to begin the rule-making process to: restrict gender-affirming surgeries to adults only, to set up a system for tracking the gender-affirming treatments both minor and adult Ohioans are undergoing; and to prevent "pop-up clinics or fly-by-night operations" from deceptive practices surrounding gender-affirming care.
The governor said a small number of Ohio children would have been affected by the bill, "but for those children who face gender dysphoria, and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound." He said he could think of no example where state law overrules the medical decisions of not only parents, but also the medical judgment of a child's treating physician and medical team.
DeWine said he does not see that position as inconsistent with his opposition to November's Issue 1, a successful abortion rights amendment whose backers similarly argued that government has no place in individuals' personal reproductive decisions.
"On the abortion issue, I believe that's a question of life and protecting human life," the governor said. "I believe, ultimately, my decision here was ultimately made about protecting life, and that is the lives of these children."
Mr. DeWine is a truly rare breed. A republican that can actually think for himself and has some common sense. Unfortunately there are so few like him in today’s GOP.
Taffy - if Democrats were allowed to think for themselves they would be Republicans. They are now generally zombies that vote in lock-step. DeWine is just being a politician, there is no moral conviction.
"On the abortion issue, I believe that's a question of life and protecting human life," the governor said. "I believe, ultimately, my decision here was ultimately made about protecting life, and that is the lives of these children."
That is some pretty twisted logic. He wouldn't pass my Critical Thinking and Logical Syllogisms 101 course. Quite frankly, I would kick him out for that false association.
Okay TwistedLittleFoot... last spring I planted corn kernels and in 3-1/2 days the beginning of a corn stalk had shown its head. When did life begin, probably within moments of the kernel meeting the dirt, water and sun. When does life begin LittleFoot thinks he / she knows more than God.
Let's take a journey
Ovulation happens each month when a woman's ovaries release a mature egg. It happens about 2 weeks after the first day of their last menstrual period.
After the egg is released from the ovary, it travels into the fallopian tube. It stays there until a single sperm fertilizes it.
A man may ejaculate 40 million to 150 million sperm, which start swimming upstream toward the fallopian tubes on their mission to fertilize an egg. Fast-swimming sperm can reach the egg in a half an hour, while others may take days. The sperm can live up to 48-72 hours. Only a few hundred will even come close to the egg because of the many natural barriers that exist in a woman's body.
It takes about 24 hours for a sperm cell to fertilize an egg. When the sperm penetrates the egg, the surface of the egg changes so that no other sperm can enter. At the moment of fertilization, the baby's genetic makeup is complete, including whether it's a boy or girl.
The fertilized egg starts growing fast, dividing into many cells. It leaves the fallopian tube and enters the uterus 3 to 4 days after fertilization. In rare cases, the fertilized egg attaches to the fallopian tube. This is called a tubal pregnancy or ectopic pregnancy and is a danger to the mother.
After it gets to the uterus, the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium. This process is known as implantation. The cells keep dividing.
Within about a week of conception, a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) can be found in the mother's blood. It is produced by cells that will become the placenta. The hormone will show up on a blood or urine pregnancy test at the doctor's office. Some home tests can detect pregnancy on the first day of your missed period.
After the egg attaches to the uterus, some cells become the placenta while others become the embryo. The heart begins beating during week 5. The brain, spinal cord, heart, and other organs are beginning to form. At the eighth week the developing baby, now called a fetus, is well over a half-inch long -- and growing. A "full term" delivery generally happens around 40 weeks.
Life is a miracle, it does not happen at birth, it happens the moment the sperm and egg meet. It's a long journey, but every moment of the nine month journey a life exists and is truly a miracle that should not to be taken lightly. I never understand how any person who is or has been a parent could be in favor of abortion.
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(4) comments
Mr. DeWine is a truly rare breed. A republican that can actually think for himself and has some common sense. Unfortunately there are so few like him in today’s GOP.
Taffy - if Democrats were allowed to think for themselves they would be Republicans. They are now generally zombies that vote in lock-step. DeWine is just being a politician, there is no moral conviction.
"On the abortion issue, I believe that's a question of life and protecting human life," the governor said. "I believe, ultimately, my decision here was ultimately made about protecting life, and that is the lives of these children."
That is some pretty twisted logic. He wouldn't pass my Critical Thinking and Logical Syllogisms 101 course. Quite frankly, I would kick him out for that false association.
Okay TwistedLittleFoot... last spring I planted corn kernels and in 3-1/2 days the beginning of a corn stalk had shown its head. When did life begin, probably within moments of the kernel meeting the dirt, water and sun. When does life begin LittleFoot thinks he / she knows more than God.
Let's take a journey
Ovulation happens each month when a woman's ovaries release a mature egg. It happens about 2 weeks after the first day of their last menstrual period.
After the egg is released from the ovary, it travels into the fallopian tube. It stays there until a single sperm fertilizes it.
A man may ejaculate 40 million to 150 million sperm, which start swimming upstream toward the fallopian tubes on their mission to fertilize an egg. Fast-swimming sperm can reach the egg in a half an hour, while others may take days. The sperm can live up to 48-72 hours. Only a few hundred will even come close to the egg because of the many natural barriers that exist in a woman's body.
It takes about 24 hours for a sperm cell to fertilize an egg. When the sperm penetrates the egg, the surface of the egg changes so that no other sperm can enter. At the moment of fertilization, the baby's genetic makeup is complete, including whether it's a boy or girl.
The fertilized egg starts growing fast, dividing into many cells. It leaves the fallopian tube and enters the uterus 3 to 4 days after fertilization. In rare cases, the fertilized egg attaches to the fallopian tube. This is called a tubal pregnancy or ectopic pregnancy and is a danger to the mother.
After it gets to the uterus, the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium. This process is known as implantation. The cells keep dividing.
Within about a week of conception, a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) can be found in the mother's blood. It is produced by cells that will become the placenta. The hormone will show up on a blood or urine pregnancy test at the doctor's office. Some home tests can detect pregnancy on the first day of your missed period.
After the egg attaches to the uterus, some cells become the placenta while others become the embryo. The heart begins beating during week 5. The brain, spinal cord, heart, and other organs are beginning to form. At the eighth week the developing baby, now called a fetus, is well over a half-inch long -- and growing. A "full term" delivery generally happens around 40 weeks.
Life is a miracle, it does not happen at birth, it happens the moment the sperm and egg meet. It's a long journey, but every moment of the nine month journey a life exists and is truly a miracle that should not to be taken lightly. I never understand how any person who is or has been a parent could be in favor of abortion.
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Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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