A Franklin Count judge ruled Tuesday that an Ohio law limiting gender-affirming health care for minors can go into effect.
The law bans hormone therapies and transgender surgeries for those under 18, unless they are already receiving such therapies and a doctor deems it a risk to stop. In addition, the law also includes restrictions on the type of mental health services available to minors and bans transgender athletes from taking part in girls’ and women’s sports.
Ohio lawmakers enacted the law in January after overriding a veto by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook wrote the ban “reasonably limits parents’ rights to make decisions about their children’s medical care consistent with the state’s deeply rooted legitimate interest in the regulation of medical profession and medical treatments.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it will file an immediate appeal.
“This loss is not just devastating for our brave clients, but for the many transgender youth and their families across the state who require this critical, life-saving health care,” ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson said in a statement.
The office of Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a statement that said, in part, “this case has always been about the legislature’s authority to enact a law to protect our children from making irreversible medical and surgical decisions about their bodies.”
Meanwhile, a statement from Ohio Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio, of Lakewood, called the ruling is a step backward.
“This law disregards the professional guidance of medical experts and the lived experiences of transgender individuals and upends parental rights while endangering the health and well-being of our youth,” Antonio’s statement said. “I believe this ruling is wrong on the merits, and it clearly defies the will of the majority of Ohioans.”
