Ohio Republicans Bully Trans Youth For Christmas

by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal
December 15, 2023

Ohio’s gerrymandered Republican supermajority decided to spend their last day of session in 2023 bullying and victimizing vulnerable children and their families.

Their priorities are abominable. Did they do anything to address the hunger and food insecurity that impacts 1 in 5 Ohio children? No. Did they do anything to protect children from gun violence that is now the leading cause of death of kids ages 1 to 19? No.

What they did instead was to spend their last session before holiday break bullying a handful of high school trans athletes out of sports, robbing parents of rights to support their trans children, interfering in intimate family health care decisions, and upping suicide risk among LGBTQ+ youth. That was the year-end priority of Ohio Republican lawmakers.

Republicans in the Ohio Senate passed House Bill 68 in a 24-8 vote Wednesday afternoon, and Republicans in the Ohio House concurred with the Senate amendments in a 61-27 vote Wednesday night. The bill blocks doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youth, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and prevents trans athletes from participating in Ohio women’s sports. A grandfather clause would allow doctors who already started treatment on patients to continue.

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