COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure Friday that would have banned sex change surgery for minors, casting the action out of step with many in his own party as thoughtful, limited and “pro-life.”
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 sex change surgery 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.
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.”
The conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom called DeWine’s veto a betrayal.
Republican state Rep. Gary Click, the bill’s sponsor, stopped short of supporting a veto override. He commended DeWine for trying to wrap his mind around a complex problem in a short amount of time, while defending his own years of research on the bill. Click 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 Senate President Matt Huffman and GOP Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens both expressed disappointment, defending lawmakers’ extensive work on the legislation. Stephens said his chamber is weighing its options with regard to beginning the veto override process.
House Democrats said the legislation was based on hate and DeWine’s veto supported “fundamental freedom” and parental rights.