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Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine<\/strong> vetoed<\/a> a bill Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, bucking his party as it seeks to make fear-mongering about transgender youth central to its 2024 election strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cWere I to sign House Bill 68, or were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state\u2014that the government\u2014knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most: the parents,\u201d DeWine said at a press conference Friday. \u201cI cannot sign this bill as it is currently written.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor said he made his decision after meeting with families \u201cboth positively and negatively affected\u201d by gender-affirming care. \u201cParents have looked me in the eye and told me that but for this treatment, their child would be dead,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd youth who are transgender have told me they are thriving today because of their transition.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill passed<\/a> the Ohio legislature, which is gerrymandered<\/a> to the hilt to protect a Republican supermajority, in December. Public testimony about the bill\u2019s effects stretched for nearly an entire day, with more than 500 people coming out against the legislation.<\/p>\n In his Friday comments, DeWine said that the bill, which also would have banned transgender girls from participating on athletic teams that align with their gender identity, would only impact a relatively small number of Ohio minors. \u201cBut for those children who face gender dysphoria and for their families,\u201d he said, \u201cthe consequences of this bill could not be more profound.\u201d The governor added that the decision was \u201cabout protecting human life.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ohio GOP has enough of a majority to override DeWine\u2019s veto, but it isn\u2019t yet obvious when or if that might happen.<\/p>\n Though DeWine sank the bill, he did say<\/a> he shared the concerns of the bill\u2019s proponents, and proposed several administrative rules that would, he said, address their goals and have a better chance of surviving judicial review. Those rules include pushing state agencies to ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors and directing them to collect comprehensive data on both minors and adults who seek out gender-affirming care. The governor also proposed creating rules to prevent \u201cpop up clinics or fly-by-night operations.\u201d<\/p>\n The move was a rare rebuke of the GOP\u2019s relentless march toward criminalizing various forms of gender-affirming care for minors and adults. According to a tally maintained<\/a> by The New York Times<\/em>, more than 20 states now have laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care. Before this year, that number was only three.<\/p>\n Ohio\u2019s Democratic Minority Leader, Nickie Antonio<\/strong>, released<\/a> a statement praising DeWine\u2019s veto. \u201cI want to thank the thousands of advocates, kids, parents, religious and business leaders who spoke out against this dangerous bill,\u201d Antonio said. \u201cThis veto belongs to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n