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

Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) voted Wednesday to override the governor's veto of a bill that would prevent minors from receiving gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex-reassignment surgery. He harshly criticized the Ohio state legislature for doing so.

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

The bill would go into effect within 90 days.

In a statement, the Ohio Democratic Party called the bill “a cold, callous, and calculated attack on children, parents, and families.”

“I strongly condemn Governor DeWine's veto override and will continue to defend the right of voters to make their own health care decisions,” Brown said in a statement Wednesday.

“Whether or not you receive gender-affirming care is a deeply personal decision that should be made in consultation with your family, loved ones, and medical professionals, not politicians. “We deserve elected officials who value the dignity of the individual. This action by extremists in the General Assembly makes it clear that federal law is needed to further protect LGBTQ+ rights,” she continued. Ta.

Ohio now joins about 20 other Republican-led states to pass similar highly controversial legislation restricting access to care for transgender minors.

DeWine is the second Republican governor to veto such a bill, following former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who recently ended her 2024 presidential campaign. DeWine expressed concerns about the bill to reporters during his veto last month, saying he believed it would do more harm than good.

“Ultimately, I believe this is about saving lives,” he said at the time. “Many parents have told me that their children would not have survived and would be dead today if they had not received the care they received at Children's Hospital of Ohio.”