Franklin County Judge ruled Tuesday that Ohio’s controversial ban on gender-sensitive health care for transgender youth can come into force.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook, a Republican, originally issued a transient injunction an order to refrain from any action under the House of Representatives’ Bill No. 68 of April 16but on Tuesday he ruled that the interim injunction had been lifted.
“After a thorough review and consideration of the evidence, the Court finds that the health care ban reasonably limits parents’ rights to make decisions about the medical care of their children, consistent with the state’s deeply held legitimate interest in regulating the medical profession and methods of treatment,” according to court documents. “This limitation is particularly appropriate when the General Assembly has determined that the regulated care is experimental and its risks significantly outweigh any benefits at this stage of clinical testing.”
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in Ohio plans to immediately appeal the decision.
“This loss is devastating not only for our brave clients, but also for the many transgender young people and their families across the state who need this critical, life-saving health care,” Freda Levenson, legal director at the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. “While this court decision is a true setback, it does not mean the end of our fight to protect the constitutional rights of transgender youth, or the right of all Ohioans to bodily autonomy.”
House Bill 68 — which became law after the House and Senate voted earlier this year to override Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto — blocks transgender youth from receiving hormone therapy and puberty blockers and bars transgender athletes from playing high school and middle school sports.
In March The ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit against a section of House Bill 68 that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. Their lawsuit claims the bill violates four sections of the Ohio Constitution — the single-subject rule, the health care provision, the equal protection clause and the due process provision.
The court found that this did not violate the single entity rule, the Health Care Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, or the Due Process of Laws.
“The Court finds that, after considering the evidence presented at trial, the health care ban is reasonably related to this interest. It is narrow to minors,” according to court documents. “In addition, medical care “the prohibited carry undeniable risks and lasting consequences.”
The case went to court last month and lasted five days.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost praised the decision.
“This case has always been about the legislature’s authority to pass laws that protect our children from making irreversible medical and surgical decisions about their bodies,” Yost spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle said in a statement.
“The law doesn’t say ‘no’ forever; it just says ‘not now,’ while the child is still growing.”
Ohio Senate Majority Leader Nickie J. Antonio of Lakewood, a Democrat, said the ruling was a step backward for Ohio.
“This law disregards the professional advice of medical experts and the lived experiences of transgender people and undermines parental rights while endangering the health and well-being of our youth,” Antonio said in a statement. “I believe this ruling is substantively flawed and clearly goes against the will of the majority of Ohioans.”
Gender-sensitive care is supported by every major medical organization in the United StatesChildren’s hospitals across Ohio, the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, and the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians opposed HB 68.
Trans Allies of Ohio was shocked by the court’s decision.
“I fear that more children will attempt suicide now that they no longer have access to gender-specific healthcare,” Sam Shim, a parent of a transgender child, said in a statement.
Minna Zelch, the mother of a teenage transgender person, said her child likely would not be here today if she had not had access to gender-affirming care as a teenager.
“I am devastated that children and parents I know and love will now be deprived of this most basic human right,” Zelch said in a statement.
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