Gov. DeWine failed Ohio’s kids — the legislature must make it right

Ohio legislators have one last chance to protect children from “gender-affirming care.” They must not be fooled by Gov. Mike DeWine’s diluted executive order that bans gender transition surgeries but does nothing to stop the chemical castration of vulnerable children or protect equal opportunities for girls in athletics.

Legislators must still promptly override his reckless veto of the SAFE Act. This vital legislation shields children from the administration of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender transition surgeries. By vetoing the SAFE Act, Gov. DeWine ignored the voices of the victims of gender transition procedures. DeWine made this clear in his veto message, in which he outlined his justification for rejecting the legislation.

The governor declared that his veto was an effort to save lives and keep the state out of decisions that parents should be making for their children. He cited parents of transgender children who told him that without access to gender transition procedures, their children would inevitably take their own lives.      

DeWine is correct that many parents of transgender youth believe this to be the case. But what he seems to be ignoring is who is pushing these parents into believing the falsehood that permanently deforming their children is the only solution to their gender dysphoria.

“Gender-affirming care” for minors is lucrative for gender clinics and Big Pharma. It shouldn’t be a surprise that some doctors want to convince healthy young children that a lifetime of drugs and surgeries will solve their problems.

With that motivation in mind, some doctors at gender clinics jump straight to recommending gender transition procedures, hurdling over less invasive interventions like counseling and therapy designed to address other comorbidities first. Often as little as one or two short appointments with a psychotherapist or counselor, combined with a willing doctor, is all that is needed to alter a child’s life quickly and forever.

To convince parents that double mastectomies and puberty blockers are the only path for kids, some doctors challenge parents: “Would you rather have a dead daughter or a live son?”

This is a wildly fraudulent ultimatum, and it robs parents of informed consent to these procedures.

The doctors who tout this claim are ignoring the growing body of long-term studies showing that children who undergo “gender-affirming care” often don’t show an improvement in mental health and continue to have higher suicide rates than the general public. Furthermore, studies show that most children who experience gender dysphoria will naturally outgrow it upon reaching adulthood.

At the Center for American Liberty, my team and I represent three young women who were coerced into gender transitions as minors and are now suing the hospitals and doctors who permanently maimed them.

One of my clients, Chloe Cole, was 12 years old when she expressed to her pediatrician that she struggled with gender dysphoria. Her doctors then told her that her gender dysphoria would never resolve itself — only aggressive and immediate medical intervention could prevent her from committing suicide. Chloe’s parents felt they had no choice but to agree.

Between the ages of 13 and 16, Chloe was put on puberty blockers and hormone treatment. Eventually, doctors performed a double mastectomy on her when she was 15 years old.

Chloe’s story is not unique. Doctors coerced another one of our clients, Layla Jane, into a double mastectomy when she just 13 years old. Doctors performed a double mastectomy on Luka Hein when she was 16 years old, as her first course of medical treatment, before even placing her on puberty blockers or testosterone.

All three of these young women now regret the surgeries and medical treatments doctors performed on them. All three have de-transitioned and are living with the permanent scars and trauma of what they’ve been through.

Chloe recently shared her experience with Congress, saying: “I look in the mirror sometimes, and I feel like a monster.”

Chloe’s is the reality from which Gov. DeWine had the opportunity to protect Ohio’s children. Instead, he capitulated to a science-denying fad that turns kids into patients for life.

The state has an interest in protecting children from harm, plain and simple. But DeWine’s executive order doesn’t go nearly far enough to protect vulnerable children, overwhelmingly young girls, from the gender affirming care industry. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatments permanently injure minors, impacting bone density and reproductive health, among other basic bodily functions. They are every bit as dangerous to children as surgeries.

Ohio legislators must put the protection of children over the protection of Big Pharma’s bottom line. This legislation, which represents the will of the people and would also be less susceptible to future change compared to an executive order, is just the start of holding the gender transition industry accountable. Much more is needed, including expanding the statutes of limitation for suing genital-altering doctors liable for medical malpractice.

Ohio legislators must override Gov. DeWine’s veto of the SAFE Act and get serious about protecting Ohio’s children.

Harmeet K. Dhillon is founder and CEO of the Center for American Liberty.