Last week, legislators from OHIO conducted the first hearing on the account (HB 172) in order to eliminate mental health resources without parental consent for teenagers experiencing crisis.
The act would remove the exception in the changed Ohio code Currently enables access to the age of youth aged 14-17:
- Outpatient services from a mental health specialist without parental consent, if there is a “significant probability of damage to minors or other people.”
- No more than six sessions or 30 days of the above services, depending on what will happen before.
“This is a simple move,” said Bill sponsor, representative Johnathan Newman (R-Troy) at the trial of Ohio House Health Committee on May 21.
Newman repeatedly claimed during the interrogation that the only function of HB 172 is to supplement the code changed in Ohio with HB 8, a card of the Parent Rights, signed this year by Governor Mike Dewin. According to HB 8, school staff – including advisers, social workers and school psychologists – must spend LGBTQ+ youth for their parents.
There was a specific exception in this account that allowed these mental health sessions based on the crisis; HB 172 would remove this support.
Newman is the first legislator and “pastor entrepreneur” with connections with Ohio Christian Virtue Center (CCV)conservative Christian lobbying organization, which is currently exchanged on Anti-LGBTQ+ hate map Published by the Civil Rights Group Southern Center of Poverty Law (SPLC).
Newman does not believe that transsexual people exist.
“I don’t think there is such a thing as transgender,” said Newman The Dayton Daily News. “This is not a reality. A boy never becomes a girl. The girl never becomes a boy. This is not reality. It can’t happen.”
There and back
Most of the audition in the HB 172 case focused on the company between Newman and Rep. Karen Brownlee (D-Symmes Twp.), Clinical social worker.
Brownlee has repeatedly tried to explain that HB 172 would remove the language in the Code changed in Ohio (5122.04) used by mental health specialists to support teenagers in the next crisis of harm, hurting others or harm by others.
“5122.04 does not take care of emergency or crisis,” said Newman.
“5122.04 to specifically Part of the code that deals with crisis care, ”Brownlee replied.
There was a further confusion because Newman said that nothing about emergency services of mental health would change on the basis of HB 172, only that parents would be notified first before providing these services.
When colleagues from Democrats on the Health Committee emphasized that there were scenarios, when parents themselves are perpetrators, Newman said that these matters must be reported to the relevant authorities, but parents still have to be notified primarily before the task.
“Then this child would not have a safe space,” said Brownlee.
Rep. Rachel Baker (D-ccinnati) asked Newman if he consulted with mental health workers or organization in the preparation of HB 172.
“I did not talk to them,” Newman replied, saying that the bill was informed by “many interested parties” in favor of parents’ rights.
In an interview with Buckeye Flame after the hearing, the representative of Brownlee said that HB 172 was discriminating and that he was shocking than “an adult would like to limit a child from a life -saving psychiatric care.”
“There was a clear lack of understanding of how crisis care of mental health is provided to young people,” she said.
Brownlee also emphasized that HB 8 clearly determined the exception to provide crisis for LGBTQ+ youth without parental consent, which, as he hopes, shows that this is a life -saving care.
“This care should not be related to the cultural war produced, because it is literally life or death harmful to young people,” she said. Ding
Light
- Buckeye Flame Ohio LGBTQ+ legislation guide for 2025 can be found here.
- If you are a adolescent LGBTQ+ in crisis, please contact Trevor project: 866-4-U-TREVOR.
- If you are an adult transgender in need of immediate support, please contact National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
- To register to vote or check the status of the voter’s eligibility in the state of Ohio, Click here.
- To find contact details for a representative of the Ohio state, Click here.
- To find contact details for your Ohio senator, Click here.
