An Ohio judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a law banning child gender-transition hormone therapy and surgeries, as well as forbidding biological men from women’s sports.
Named the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, the law prohibited such invasive procedures, which growing evidence suggests causes irreversible damage, for kids under 18 years old. The law was set to take effect on April 24. The measure also protected women’s sports from male intrusion, making only those assigned female at birth eligible to compete in that division and on those teams at the K-12 and collegiate levels.
“No school, interscholastic conference, or organization that regulates interscholastic athletics shall knowingly permit individuals of the male sex to participate on athletic teams or in athletic competitions designated only for participants of the female sex,” it read.
Last month, the ACLU of Ohio sued over the law, arguing it violates the state constitution. Republican Governor Mike DeWine received intense backlash after he originally vetoed the law, claiming that it interfered with parental authority over children’s medical decisions.
At a press conference immediately following his veto, DeWine said neither the government nor the state of Ohio, as the bill stood, should weigh in on the matter of whether a minor should have access to transgender surgeries or hormone therapy. Rather, he said, the decision should be made by the child’s parents and doctors. DeWine later issued an “emergency” executive order barring physicians from performing gender-transition surgeries, such as mastectomies and hysterectomies, on children in Ohio’s hospitals and health-care facilities.
The Ohio senate and house voted to override DeWine’s veto, codifying the law.
Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook on Tuesday granted the ACLU’s motion for a temporary restraining order, preventing the law from being implemented pending further litigation. The suspension will remain for 14 days or until the plaintiffs’ hearing for the preliminary injunction happens.
“We are thrilled and relieved that Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming health care has been halted and that transgender youth can continue, for the near term at least, to access medically necessary healthcare,” Freda Levenson, the legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, told ABC6News. “Our legal battle will continue until, we hope, this cruel restriction is permanently blocked. Ohio families have a constitutional right to make personal healthcare decisions without government intrusion.”
The Ohio state senate, which has a GOP majority, doubled down on the law after the ruling came down, promising a further fight.
“We are confident the Attorney General’s Office will successfully defend this critical law protecting children suffering from behavioral disorders from being subjected to these radical, permanent, life-altering procedures,” the chamber’s communications director told the local outlet.