COLUMBUS- The ACLU of Ohio announced today that it will file a lawsuit challenging a provision in House Bill 68, specifically the ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. The Republican supermajority in the Ohio Legislature voted to override Governor DeWine’s veto of this bill on January 24, 2024. The ACLU of Ohio will file its lawsuit to halt the law before it takes effect on April 23, 2024.
“We are preparing litigation to defend transgender youth and their constitutional right to receive medically necessary healthcare. The use of gender-affirming hormone therapy to treat transgender minors is supported by every major medical association in our country. Transgender youth, together with their doctors and parents, should have access to evidence-based medical care just like anyone else. Families should be able to make these private, personal decisions based on the advice of their physicians, and free from interference by politicians. HB 68 is not only cruel; it violates the Ohio Constitution and must be challenged.” added Freda Levenson, Legal Director at the ACLU of Ohio.
“Ohio’s law is an unconscionable attack on transgender youth and their families. Gender affirming healthcare is safe, effective, and necessary. We are prepared to go to court and defend the rights and dignity of transgender youth with every tool available,” added Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU.
Hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria in youth is evidence-based, medically necessary, and backed by major medical associations across the nation, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. To deny this care lacks any basis in medical science and would have disastrous consequences for the health and well-being of Ohio youth with gender dysphoria.
Additional details about the impending lawsuit will be available soon.
