Monday, April 29, 2024

How will House Bill 68 limit health care for Ohio transgender youth?

ohio house bill 68

A 2022 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found 94% of youth maintained their gender identity five years after their social transition. According to the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, reproductive issues — including infertility — are a major risk of hormone therapy that must be discussed with all patients. Other risks, which Vaughn said are often minimal, do persist and should be considered before starting treatment. These treatments aim to spur the development of male secondary sex characteristics in trans men, or female secondary sex characteristics in trans women. “One judge from one county does not have more power than the governor’s veto pen,” Yost said about the injunction in the case.

Ohio Gov. DeWine vetoes House Bill 68 on transgender medical care, sports

It says HB 68 violates four sections of the Ohio Constitution — the single-subject rule, the Health Care provision, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Due Course of Law provision. HB 68 was amended to allow trans children who had already begun puberty blockers or hormones before the law’s enactment to continue on those medications. This is a younger baseline than was used in previous WPATH standards of care, and drew some criticism last year. Other WPATH criteria for adolescent surgery include sustained evidence of gender dysphoria and more tha 12 months of hormone therapy. According to Nick Lashutka, president of the Ohio Children's Hospital Association, children’s hospitals across the state have a “rigorous multidisciplinary team” that works with patients and families who report experiencing gender dysphoria. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed an emergency motion with the Ohio Supreme Court Monday in an attempt to stop a temporary restraining order against Ohio’s gender-affirming care ban for trans youth.

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Medical professionals across Ohio have spoken out overwhelmingly against HB 68. At a senate committee hearing last week, Nick Lashutka, the president of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, testified that the bill “strips away” the rights of parents with transgender children. Ohio hospitals do not offer gender-affirming care to young patients without the consent of a parent or guardian.

A judge puts a short-term pause on HB 68 in Ohio prior to its effective date

The bill passed the House and Senate with a supermajority, meaning lawmakers could mobilize enough support to override DeWine's veto. The analysis of the bill cited a rise in recent referrals for children to have genital and nongenital reassignment surgeries as a concern for lawmakers. Legislators on both sides of the aisle have also acknowledged that there is little research on the long-term impacts of hormone therapy, increasing the potential risks for adolescents undergoing such treatment. In recent months, a wave of proposed state laws has placed Ohio at the center of a national debate on LGBTQ+ rights.

The bill, HB 68, prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youths. It also blocks transgender female student athletes from participating in girls’ sports. Opponents and health care providers say the bill threatens some forms of treatment that are often considered medically necessary for transgender youth. Some say that parts of the act demonstrate a misunderstanding of what treatment options actually look like for minors. Filed by the ACLU in March, the original lawsuit seeks to block HB 68 from going into effect on schedule and at all. It is on behalf of two 12-year-old transgender Ohio girls and their families, one from Hamilton County and one from Franklin County, and argues they would lose “critical, medically necessary health care” under HB 68.

Can We Please Talk About House Bill 68? – The Oberlin Review - The Oberlin Review

Can We Please Talk About House Bill 68? – The Oberlin Review.

Posted: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Clark said doctors don’t have the power to wholly self-regulate, under the Health Care Freedom Act or other laws. “In one medical situation, maybe you’ll get steroids, in a different situation it may not be okay. Earlier this year, the Ohio house received more than 600 written testimonies from people who oppose the ban on gender-affirming care, compared with just 56 in support of the legislation. "To advance this measure, supporters have demonized providers and parents alike and pushed misinformation in order to deny care to an incredibly small number of Ohio children," they wrote.

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ohio house bill 68

The bill has a grandfather clause that allows doctors to continue treatment on patients that have already started. If DeWine signs the bill into law, Ohio will join the growing list of states that have severely restricted the resources offered to transgender children. As of November, more than one-third of all US trans youth live in a state that restricts or prohibits access to gender-affirming care. Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming this year passed laws restricting transgender student athletes’ ability to participate in sports. Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday struck down legislation that would have banned transgender girls from female sports and restricted the medical care of transgender minors.

ohio house bill 68

One to ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors and another one to ban transgender women from playing on women’s sport teams. A Franklin County judge has again blocked a state law that would ban gender transition treatment for minors and would stop trans athletes from competing in girls' sports. The bill could also require mental health professionals to screen all patients for ADHD and autism before considering a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Timelines for treatment regimens vary from patient to patient, Vaughn said. For this reason, Vaughn said most patients start with puberty blockers and may begin hormone therapy later in their adolescence, depending on decisions made by the patient, their family and their medical care team. The ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on March 26 against the part of the law that prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

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The bill now heads to the desk of Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, a Republican with a mixed record on LGBTQ+ rights. DeWine previously indicated that he would not support legislation that blocks trans women and girls from participating in female sports. In a letter to DeWine, several health care organizations said doctors already get parental consent and don't recommend gender transition surgery for minors. Mental health treatment is also key to ensuring that patients and their families are certain about diagnoses of gender dysphoria before undergoing treatment, McLoney said. While therapists can help minors seek treatment for gender dysphoria, they can also simply offer support to anyone questioning their gender without seeking a diagnosis, he said. Some proponents of House Bill 68 have raised concerns that many patients, especially those who are treated for gender dysphoria as minors, may regret undergoing treatment.

The legislation in question blocks trans minors from access to gender-affirming care and from participating in girls’ athletics. HB 68 also bars physicians from prescribing hormones and puberty blockers to minors and creates penalties for those who do. The bill also mandates that K-12 and collegiate teams in Ohio be “single-sex” and enables athletes to bring forth civil lawsuits against any institution that violates that mandate.

House Bill 68, which cleared the House and Senate earlier this month, would have prevented doctors from prescribing hormones, puberty blockers or gender reassignment surgery before patients turn 18. It also would have prohibited transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams in high school and college. The law would block access to gender-affirming care for minors, and would also ban trans athletes from participating in girls' sports. It also stops doctors from prescribing hormones and puberty blockers to minors.

If House Bill 68 is passed, it will become impossible for Ohio youth to legally access hormone therapy or puberty blockers, forcing current patients to either detransition or seek medical care in other states. Gender-affirming care is an umbrella term used by some medical professionals for many types of health care that can help recognize people’s gender identities. This can include therapy and other mental health services, the use of medication treatments, or surgery. House Bill 68 would ban therapists from diagnosing or treating minors with gender dysphoria without parental consent, and would prohibit the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors. The bill does not include an exception for minors who have already started treatment, meaning they would have to leave the state to seek health care. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two families whose 12-year-old transgender daughters would lose access to gender-affirming health care.

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