Ohio House passes bans on transgender student-athletes, gender-affirming care for minors

COLUMBUS — The Ohio House of Representatives passed a proposal Wednesday that would prohibit minors from receiving gender-affirming care and transgender student-athletes from participating in girl’s and women’s sports.

The measure combined two contentious bills that could change how LGBTQ+ youth live in the state, according to the Associated Press.

These aren’t the first attempts to pass such proposals in Ohio.

Last year, a gender-affirming care ban died in the House committee.

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A sports ban nearly made it through the House and Senate last fall but fell short after it was tacked onto an education bill, AP reported.

With the most recent gender-affirming care ban proposal, minors in Ohio would be prohibited from taking puberty blockers and undergoing other hormone therapies or receiving gender reassignment surgery in an effort to further align them with their gender identity.

Should the bill become law, doctors who violate it could lose their licenses to practice if they provide care other than verbal therapy for transgender children.

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Transgender children currently undergoing hormone therapies would have to stop treatment or leave the state to receive it elsewhere, according to the AP.

As for the sports ban, the proposal would require K-12 schools as well as universities to designate “separate teams” for male and female sexes, but it explicitly bans transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports.

The AP reported at least 20 other states have imposed similar bans.

It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

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