Following widespread criticism over his decision to veto the Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an “emergency” executive order banning child mutilation surgeries for kids under 18 who identify as transgender.
“A week has gone on by, and I still feel just as firmly about that [veto] as I did that day,” DeWine said at a press conference Friday. “I believe the parents, not the government, should be making these crucial decisions for their children.”
DeWine’s executive order, while banning surgeries, does not apply more broadly to hormone treatments.
“This will ensure that surgeries of this type on minors can never happen in Ohio,” DeWine adding, noting the executive order takes the contentious issue “off the table.”
The move comes as the Legislature is looking to override the governor’s veto, with a vote scheduled for Wednesday.
DeWine faced intense backlash after his veto from conservatives, including former President Trump, who said he was "finished" with the Republican.
“No wonder he gets loudly booed in Ohio every time I introduce him at Rallies, but I won’t be introducing him any more. I’m finished with this ‘stiff,’” the 45th president said on Truth Social. “What was he thinking. The bill would have stopped child mutilation, and prevented men from playing in women’s sports. Legislature will hopefully overturn. Do it FAST!!!”
Conservatives were not content with the executive order.
Lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon called on Ohio legislators to protect the state's children.
"They must not be fooled by Gov. Mike DeWine’s diluted executive order .... that doesn’t go nearly far enough to protect vulnerable children, overwhelmingly young girls, from the gender affirming care industry," she wrote in The Hill. "Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatments permanently injure minors, impacting bone density and reproductive health, among other basic bodily functions. They are every bit as dangerous to children as surgeries."
Impressive he's managed to alienate himself from both republicans and democrats
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) January 5, 2024
Override the veto & get DeWine out of office https://t.co/1j7ORw1AfQ
DeWine is trying to find an incoherent compromise position by banning surgeries but still allowing chemical castration of children. Not nearly good enough. His veto must be overridden and he should still be run out of Republican politics forever. https://t.co/Fqt5IV8sui
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 5, 2024
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