Rep. Brown condemns Ohio Legislature’s override on governor’s veto of gender-affirming care ban

Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) on Wednesday sharply rebuked the Ohio state Legislature for voting to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would prevent minors from seeking gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and transition surgery.

The Ohio Senate on Wednesday voted to override the Republican governor’s veto, joining the Ohio House, which voted to override the veto two weeks ago. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed the bill less than four weeks ago. The bill also prevents transgender women and teenage girls from participating in women’s college and high school sports teams.

The bill will take effect in 90 days.

In a statement, the Ohio Democrat described the bill as “a cold, callous, and calculated attack on children, parents, and families.”

“I strongly condemn the override of Governor DeWine’s veto and will continue to stand with my constituents in defense of their right to make their own health care decisions,” Brown wrote in a statement Wednesday.

“Accessing gender-affirming care is a deeply personal decision — one that should be made in consultation with family, loved ones, and medical professionals, not politicians. Ohioans deserve elected officials that put personal dignity over politics. This action by extremists in the General Assembly makes clear that we need federal legislation to further protect LGBTQ+ rights,” she continued.

Ohio now joins nearly two dozen other Republican-led states in passing similar highly controversial bills that restrict access to care for transgender minors.

DeWine was the second Republican governor to veto such a bill, following former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who recently ended his 2024 campaign for president. DeWine expressed his concerns about the bill to reporters as he vetoed it last month, saying he thinks it would do more harm than good.

“Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life,” he said at the time. “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.”