Culture and Social Issues

Red State Judge Temporarily Blocks Ban On Sex-Change Surgeries For Minors

(Flickr/ NBC4 Columbus)

An Ohio court temporarily halted a law prohibiting doctors from performing sex-change procedures on minors, according to News 5 Cleveland, an ABC News affiliate.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed HB 68 in December 2023, claiming it would interfere with parental rights, but the state legislature voted in January to override the governor’s decision. Judge Michael Holbrook of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas ordered that the law be enjoined for two weeks, just days before it was set to go into effect on April 24, according to News 5 Cleveland.

The law also prohibited doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to Ohioans under the age of 18. The legislation also barred biological males from competing in women’s and girl’s sports in K-12 schools and higher education.

The decision comes just one day after a state legislative panel approved a rule proposed by DeWine that would only prohibit sex-change surgeries for minors, according to Cleveland.com, a local media outlet. DeWine proposed the rule in January, saying that he felt it would better protect children and their families.

The governor was heavily criticized for vetoing the legislation and for having received $40,000 in donations from 2018 to 2023 from Ohio children’s hospitals that openly support transgender medical treatments for minors.