Ohio poised to become the 2nd state to restrict gender-affirming care for adults

[Jessica_Rose]

Ohio is poised to become the 2nd state to restrict gender-affirming care for adults

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ohio-is-poised-to-become-the-2nd-state-to-restrict-gender-affirming-care-for-adults/ar-BB1gZNO7?cvid=57586f58fc364d3ebca70cef0943c8f9&ei=8

Story by GEOFF MULVIHILL (20 Jan 2024)

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced proposals this month that transgender advocates say could block access to gender-affirming care provided by independent clinics and general practitioners, leaving thousands of adults scrambling for treatment and facing health risks.

DeWine announced the proposed rules amid a whirl of activity that could push Ohio further than most other states in controlling gender-affirming care and make it just the second to set forth restrictions on adult care.

He also signed an executive order to ban gender-affirming surgery for minors but vetoed a bill that would ban all gender-affirming care for minors. One chamber of the state legislature has already overridden it and the other is voting Jan. 24 on whether to do so.

"It is a policy project that attempts to make it so onerous, so restrictive to get care, that people are functionally unable to do so," said Kellan Baker, executive director of the Whitman-Walker Institute, a Washington-based organization focused on the health of LGBTQ+ people.

They would require psychiatrists, endocrinologists and medical ethicists to have roles in creating facility-wide gender-affirming care plans for patients of all ages. Providers would be barred from referring minors to treatment elsewhere, such as clinics in other states.