This bill [a ban on transgender health care for minors] would impact a very small number of Ohio's children. But for those children who face gender dysphoria, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound. Ultimately I believe this is about protecting human life...Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today, if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio's children's hospitals...These are gut-wrenching decisions that should be made by parents and should be informed by teams of doctors who are advising them. Were I to sign House Bill 68, or were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most: the parents.
--Mike DeWine, Republican Governor of Ohio
(I fully expected DeWine to sign this bill into law, but people sometimes surprise you. Go, Mike! Not that this is the final word on the subject. HB 68 passed the state's House and Senate by a supermajority, and that same supermajority could override the governor's veto. And even if that doesn't happen, DeWine has said he wants some kind of prohibition or restriction, just not what landed on his desk. Nevertheless, it's a ray of hope at the end of a very harrowing year for the LGBTQ community, both inside and outside of Ohio--Kirk)
Harrowing times indeed.
ReplyDeleteDebra, I'm hoping the harrowing lets up some, but with an election year coming up, it just may increase as certain politicians try to outhomophobe and outtransphobe each other.
ReplyDeleteDeWine's comment makes him sound like a normal human being!
ReplyDeleteHe's rising to the occasion, Mike.
DeleteYesterday, a Georgia transgender woman, Robyn Casias, filed a $3 million lawsuit against AT&T alleging discrimination and wrongful termination. To read more, go to www.emilysvirtualrocket.com. Thank you very much. -- Emily Shorette PS - Yesterday, Mike DeWine gave a pleasant surprise. I put it in yesterday's blog. Thank you, Gov. Mike!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Emily. I'm right now heading to your place to red about that lawsuit.
DeleteI thought he was going to sign it as well. You are right, people can surprise us.
ReplyDeleteOf course, JM, there's a lot of issues where he DOESN'T surprise us, such as those regarding reproductive rights, but you got to take what you can get.
Delete