LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After several months of debate, the Ohio Senate voted 24-9 in favor of overriding a governor’s veto regarding a bill addressing transgender athletes and gender reassignment surgeries for minors.
Despite a veto from Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine before the new year on the House Bill 68, the Ohio House voted to overturn the veto. The Ohio Senate followed the House in overturning the veto yesterday afternoon during session.
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One of the main proponents of the legislation, Ohio State Representative Jena Powell (R-Ohio), first introduced the Save Women’s Sports Act in 2019 and has co-sponsored the SAFE Act’s policy since it was first introduced in 2020.
“I am truly grateful that after five years of uphill battles, Ohio females’ rights to safety, fairness, a future in female sports, and female scholar-athlete opportunities are finally protected in Ohio law,” said Ohio State Rep. Powell in a statement. “Today, my colleagues in the Senate listened to the people that they represent, and acted in their best interests, despite pressure from the Governor.”
In addition to keeping Ohio sports gender specific, the bill also bans physicians from performing gender reassignment surgery and providing cross-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs for minors.
“Protecting our children from life-changing, irreversible, experimental, mutilating, and sterilizing drugs and surgeries is a clear responsibility,” said Ohio State Rep. Powell in a statement. “The Ohio SAFE Act provides children the chance to thrive, and I am grateful to Rep. Click for his leadership.”
Opponents of the Bill:
Equality Ohio, a Columbus based nonprofit that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, nonbinary and transgender Ohioans, shared its condemnation of the Senate’s override of the Governor’s veto.
“Lawmakers have made it clear that they are more concerned with protecting their political aspirations than protecting children, protecting women, or tackling the numerous pressing issues Ohians are actually facing,” said Siobhan Boyd-Nelson, interim Executive Director for Equality Ohio.
She alluded to Ohio’s Proposal 1 which passed in early November after Ohio voters passed the constitutional amendment with 57% of voters in favor. “Ohio voters have made it unequivocally clear that the government is not welcome in our private medical decisions and not needed in our kids’ extracurricular activities,” said Boyd-Nelson in a statement. “Transgender Ohioans, their families, and allies will continue to fight for our rights because Ohio is our home.”
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Among those in favor of the Ohio Governor’s veto, was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio.
“We are extremely disappointed that the Ohio House continued their crusade against transgender youth and their families by returning early for an emergency session to override the Governor’s veto on HB 68,” the group said in a statement. “This state-sponsored vendetta against some of Ohio’s most vulnerable young people is beyond cruel. The ACLU of Ohio stands in solidarity with all transgender youth and their families. This measure may force families to leave the state, disrupting communities and other deep ties to Ohio’s history and economy.”
Governor’s Remarks on His Veto:
Following his veto at the end of December, Ohio Gov. DeWine shared some of the reasons for the decision with the public, including his belief that it was about protecting human life.
“Many parents have told me that their children would be dead today if they had not received the treatment they received from an Ohio children’s hospital,” he said in a statement. “I have also been told, by those who are now grown adults, that but for this care, they would have taken their life when they were teenagers.”
Ohio Gov. DeWine also added that if he had signed it, the effect would have been that the government knows better for the children than the parents.
“Were I to sign House Bill 68 or were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the State — that the government — knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most — the parents,” he said in a statement. “While there are rare times in the law — in other circumstances — where the State overrules the medical decisions made by the parents, I can think of no example where this is done, not only against the decision of the parents, but also against the medical judgment of the treating physician and the treating team of medical experts.”
He also highlighted the work of the main bill sponsor, State Representative Gary Click (R-Ohio).
“Representative Click worked very hard on this bill,” Gov. DeWine said in a statement. “He studied the issues. He is a good person, who fervently wants to protect children.”
Supporters of the Bill:
The bill was originally released in the Ohio House under Ohio Representative Click, who commended the Ohio Senate yesterday.
“The SAFE Act and Save Women’s Sports Act are the civil rights issues of our day, ensuring that children have the right to grow up intact and that women are no longer subject to men invading their spaces,” State Representative Click said.
He also shared that the battle between the two branches of government was “over policy but not personality.”
“I feel confident that Governor De Wine acted from his heart. I continue to feel that with more time and opportunity it may have been possible for the governor to share in our understanding of this vital issue,” State Rep. Click said. “Nevertheless, he did what he felt was right, as he should. The legislature, however, felt just as strongly if not more so that HB 68 was imperative to save lives, uphold medical ethics, and reaffirm women’s rights.”
He added, “The sentiment of Ohio’s citizens was heard and reflected across the nation. The citizens of Ohio were unequivocal in their demand that the legislature act and we did. The system worked.”
What Could This Mean for Michigan?
23 states have enacted the Save Women’s Sports Act, and more states are working to pass similar legislation. Currently, Michigan does not have a SAFE Sports Act in place, but the Michigan High School Athletic Association has shared its ruling on the issue of transgender athletes competing.
The MHSAA has had policies in place that would allow girls to play on boys teams, and if a transgender female student wants to participate on a girls team, the group requires certain documentation about the student. Some of the documents include whether or not the student is taking hormones or has undergone surgery, and reviews the records on a case-by-case basis.
23 states have enacted the SAFE Act or similar policies according to ESPN.
Michigan State Representative Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington) shared with Michigan News Source his initial reactions to the Ohio Senate vote.
“I certainly have seen plenty of legislation that has been pushed forth on the participation of folks that are transitioning from a male to a female, or et cetera,” he said during the interview, “My concern and my stance has always been, you’re born a certain way.”
Also serving as Minority Vice Chair of the Health Policy Committee, Rep. VanderWall expressed concerns about the consequences on women’s athletic competitions.
“If we allowed people to participate because they identify or are transitioning from one sex to the other, especially a male to a female, into female sports, we would destroy the intent of what we worked on for years to give our female athletes a good opportunity,” he said to Michigan News Source.
The last time similar bills were introduced was in 2021, under state Senator Lana Theis (R-Brighton), but Rep. VanderWall shared his position if similar legislation were introduced.
“I would oppose allowing male athletes to participate in women’s sports,” he added that he is not aware of any similar legislation up for consideration currently in Michigan.
Rep. VanderWall likened the medical component of the bill for minors to other age restricted laws on the books.
“Their body isn’t fully developed nor is their mind,” he said in the interview. “I truly believe that you should be an adult and be able to make those decisions.”
“We told people you can’t legally smoke or drink until you’re 21, yet we would allow someone to alter their body that you can never change back as a minor,” he added.
Ohio Makes History Championing SAFE Act Legislation:
Ohio has become the first in 2024, and the fifth state overall to override a governor’s veto for SAFE Act legislation, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and North Carolina, according to the Family Research Council, a public policy group advocating for religious liberty and family values.
H.B. 68, consisting of the Save Women’s Sports Act and the Ohio SAFE Act, will go into effect 91 days after it is filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.
