Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive veto on Friday to shut down a bill that would have outlawed gender transition treatments for minors and banned biological males from competing in female sports.
The Republican governor’s veto, which is being slammed by conservative lawmakers and activists, cited concerns with the text of the legislation and claimed to be in support of parental rights and the wellbeing of children.
Ohio House Bill 68, which passed the state legislature in a party-line vote earlier this month, was made up of two separate acts. The Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act banned so-called “gender-affirming” treatments, including double mastectomies and genital procedures, from being performed on minors. The Save Women’s Sports Act was intended to prohibit men who identify as women from participating in organized sports alongside biological women.
The pair of acts passed the Ohio House of Representatives by a vote of 62-27 and the state Senate 24-8.
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However, in a Friday morning press conference announcing the veto, Governor DeWine expressed concern with the text of the bill, as well as its viability if challenged in court.
“I truly believe that we can address a number of goals in House Bill 68 by administrative rules that will have likely a better chance of surviving judicial review and being adopted,” DeWine said.
The governor’s initial remarks did not address the subject of men in women’s sports, instead focusing primarily on the SAFE Act and its ramifications for children and families. DeWine’s office had reportedly embarked on a weeks-long “fact-finding” mission, visiting pediatric hospitals and gender treatment centers and interviewing people on both sides of the debate.
“This bill would impact a very small number of Ohio’s children. But, for those children who face gender dysphoria and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound,” the governor said. “Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life. Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals.”
“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 best for a child than the two people who know that child the best — the parents,” DeWine continued in remarks after his initial statement. “This is an issue that has people on both sides have great passion. The decisions that parents are making are not easy decisions…And I just felt that there’s no one better than the parents to make those decisions.”
Despite his veto, DeWine expressed that his goal is to “find common ground and adopt rules to protect Ohio children, adults, and families in this area.” These rules will reportedly include an eventual ban on surgeries for minors and laws to “prevent pop-up clinics or fly-by-night operations” selling “inaccurate or even ideological treatments.”
But DeWine’s veto of a bill that his fellow Republicans considered a slam dunk has been met with extensive criticism. Former collegiate swimmer and women’s sports activist Riley Gaines denounced DeWine as “a spineless coward that needs to be removed from office.”
Governor Mike DeWine has vetoed HB 68, a bill that would protect women's sports and prevent child mutilation. Fortunately, Ohio has the votes to override the veto. @GovMikeDeWine is a spineless coward that needs to be removed from office. pic.twitter.com/u4fGJiF8C0
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) December 29, 2023
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also shamed the governor’s decision to veto the “simple law.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine just vetoed a simple law that would have stopped boys from competing in girls’ sports & stopped kids from undergoing genital mutilation & chemical castration. Even Ohio’s Lt. Governor @JonHusted favored passage of the bill. Shame on DeWine. https://t.co/5yHSSg7n3t
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 29, 2023
While DeWine hopes to renegotiate the issue at a later date, his veto may itself be overturned by the state legislature, where the Republicans theoretically have enough votes for a three-fifths supermajority against the decision. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb all likewise vetoed similar bills but were overridden by their respective legislatures.
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