Yesterday, an Ohio court ruled to uphold House Bill 68, which restricts gender-affirming healthcare for youth and blocks transgender women and girls from playing on women’s school sports teams. The healthcare portion of the law prohibits youth under the age of 18 from starting a course of treatment for gender-affirming medical care. The law provides an exception for youth under the age of 18 who are residents of Ohio and started receiving gender-affirming care in Ohio prior to the law going into effect. These youth can continue to receive hormone therapy and puberty-delaying medication from a provider in Ohio.
Leadership at Ohio-based organizations TransOhio and Equality Ohio responded to the news by affirming their commitment to justice for transgender Ohioans.
Dara Adkinson (they/them pronouns) of TransOhio said today:
“Today’s decision by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas is a cruel farce and a slap in the face of what we know to be true: medical choices for youth belong between parents, youth and their personal healthcare providers. And trans women and girls belong in sports with their peers. Despite repeated attempts to reduce and restrict access to support systems and public spaces for trans, nonbinary, intersex, and gender nonconforming youth, transgender Ohioans cannot be legislated away. Our youth deserve so much better from our courts, government and elected officials.”
Micah Mitchell (he/they pronouns) of Equality Ohio said today:
“Despite today’s ruling upholding House Bill 68, we remain steadfast that transgender youth, like all young people, deserve every opportunity to thrive, including access to essential healthcare. We deeply appreciate the courageous transgender youth and their families who have fought against this legislation, and we extend our gratitude to the ACLU of Ohio for their tireless advocacy. As we move forward, we will persist in our coalition efforts across the state to ensure that every individual has the chance to live in a world where we all thrive, whether we are transgender or not.” – Micah Mitchell, Policy Manager at Equality Ohio
At Campaign for Southern Equality, we are devastated for trans youth and their families whose healthcare will be blocked by this law, and want folks to know that support is available. There are several resources available for families of transgender youth who access gender-affirming care in Ohio:
- The Trans Youth Emergency Project, led in Ohio by TransOhio, Equality Ohio, Kaleidoscope Youth Center, and the Campaign for Southern Equality, provides patient navigation services, $500 emergency grants, and more to support families of trans youth impacted by gender-affirming care bans. Parents or caregivers of trans youth seeking gender-affirming care can learn more and fill out the form here to request support.
- Emergency cash assistance is also available through TransOhio’s Emergency Fund. You can apply here.
