Ohio's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, reportedly vetoed a bill that would ban gender reassignment treatment for minors and block transgender people from participating in women's sports leagues in the state.
"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," the governor said during a meeting with the media.
The Republican governor's decision was made after it was reported that he visited a clinic to talk to parents of children undergoing sex change operations. "I’m trying to learn as much as I can to make a good decision," said the governor in statements collected by AP.
"We’re dealing with children who are going through a challenging time, families that are going through a challenging time," he added.
Media outlets, such as The New York Times, recounted the states that have imposed measures against sex change treatment in minors. The newspaper's figures show that at least 20 states have promoted policies against this type of medical care.
"Several dozen laws, including ones on how gender can be discussed in classrooms, what bathrooms transgender students can use and whether they can participate in school sports, have been enacted this year," The New York Times reported.
The Ohio Bill
After approval by the state House of Representatives, the Ohio Senate overwhelmingly supported the bill to ban gender reassignment medical treatments for minors. The bill also proposed ending gender trans participation in sports, whereby an athlete could compete as a gender other than that of their sex at birth.
The bill obtained support of 24 votes in the state Senate, with only eight against. Both chambers of this 135th Ohio General Assembly have a Republican majority. Only one Republican senator voted against the bill along with Democrats.
