Things you can do right now for Ohio
Update, March 2024: I am no longer updating this as there are better resources now available. Please follow the amazing organizers at Trans Allies of Ohio who have put together a comprehensive guide for where things stand right now. You can access the google doc or read more on their website.
For trans people in Ohio, the last several days have been, to be blunt, terrifying. On December 29, after concerted public pressure, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine vetoed HB 68, a combination gender-affirming care ban and ban on trans girls participation in sports. The response was enormous, prompting conservative groups like the Center for Christian Virtue, a key driver of the Ohio SAFE Act, to call for an emergency veto override alongside bill sponsor Gary Click. At this time, Click and colleagues intend to hold an emergency session to push the override through.
Meanwhile, on January 4, announced during a follow-up press conference, DeWine announced Executive Order 2024-01D. DeWine’s order, primarily being reported as simply a ban on gender-afffirming surgery under 18, contains provisions for the enactment of new regulations on care for trans people of all ages that constitute a de facto ban on gender-affirming care for the majority of trans people in Ohio.
The rules being proposed are the most stringent rules currently under consideration anywhere in the United States, and would restrict gender-affirming care providers to a handful of university hospitals by requiring lengthy assessment by a multidisciplinary team, including a board certified endocrinologist, psychiatrist and most unusually— a bioethicist.
This last requirement is perhaps the most onerous. While bioethicists are employed by hospitals to review complex cases, no infrastructure exists for what DeWine is proposing. This would create an immediate barrier to care that is impossible to satisfy, putting every patient in indefinite limbo.
There is a lot of information to take in. As more information emerges, it is increasingly clear that DeWine has been working on this for quite a while, with much of the process clearly modeled on the DeSantis strategy.
To my trans siblings
It’s time for us all to get loud, and it’s also time to get organized. While many of us work in our own communities and on our own fronts. As a therapist with social epidemiological training, mine has been fighting the proliferation of conversion therapy networks. But right now all eyes need to be on Mike DeWine.
There is no way that our siblings in Ohio can do this alone, and this past year has shown us that we are facing an enormously organized assault on trans lives by some of the most powerful people in the United States. The move by the wealthiest people on Earth to purchase enormous amounts of electronic infrastructure to manipulate public sentiment against us— at a time where the largest platform no longer flags false accusations, misinformation and outright blood libel against marginalized communities— information is going to get harder to trust and a hundred times more important. The threat is real, and it is an existential one at that.
But there are things you can do, and we need you to do them right now.
Note: I will continue to update the following list as more steps emerge, including how you can sign up to submit testimony against these cruel regulations. [ Last updated 1/11 @ 8:41AM. ]
Governor Mike DeWine is about to find out that trans people aren’t going to let this happen without a fight. We have gone through too much and fought too hard for some smarmy politician like DeWine to destroy everything we’ve built for ourselves and our communities so he can win elections and climb in the polls. There will be more steps soon, but for now, let DeWine know how you feel!
Contact Mike DeWine’s office. governor.ohio.gov/contact
Note: Per request, sample scripts and letter templates!
Excerpt from an example letter to Gov. DeWine:
While I applaud the veto of HB 68, the rules now being proposed by the governor are of tremendous concern as they will dramatically limit access to care in the state of Ohio for transgender people of any age without any added benefit whatsoever. … Nowhere in medicine is it considered standard practice to have a bioethicist review an individual care plan for a type of care that is low risk, enormously beneficial, and simple to administer. Notably, the proposed rules also go against the growing consensus of bioethicists themselves by providing exemptions for intersex surgeries. The inclusion of such an exemption makes the animus behind these proposed rules clear: this is not even about a specific type of treatment, it is about a specific type of treatment for a specific group of people… [ full text here ]
The following have been shared with me:
Example prompt/phone/email script
Have one you’re willing to share? let me know!
Leave a message for the governor: (614) 644-4357
for more contact numbers, see this list put out by a local lobbying firm.
Update, January 11, 2024: Wednesday, the Ohio house voted to override the veto. However there are still steps to take to push the senate. From Melissa Gira Grant:
On Wednesday, the Ohio House of Representatives voted to override DeWine’s veto of their initial bill banning gender-affirming care for minors, with a Senate vote expected later this month. But there is no indication that, if the veto override makes it through the legislature, DeWine would withdraw his proposed additional rules.
Tell representatives to reject the veto override!
While it's slightly unclear whether DeWine's veto was independently motivated or part of a larger plan to enact the draconian measures outlined last week, what is clear is that should legislators override the veto it would only make a truly awful situation worse. House republicans have made it clear, they want this passed. Right now, sponsors of the original bill are adamant that they have the numbers needed to secure an override of the governor’s veto, however the margin is small. Join Trans Allies of Ohio, Equality Ohio, and Trans Ohio in protecting the override by taking the steps below!
check out the ACLU’s form to contact legislators and urge them not to follow through with the override. While state legislators like Rep. Gary Click, with the help of far-right think tanks like the Center for Christian Virtue rally to push a veto override through, there are still calls from local organizations like Equality Ohio and the ACLU to prevent an override.
Fill out this form from Trans Ohio’s James Knapp on the Action Network platform against the override!
Check out this portal from the National Center for Trans Equality to send a message to the Ohio Senate (note: NCTE is asking that only people in Ohio or who get care in Ohio leave a comment).
Tell the house speaker directly to reject the override!
Call (614) 466-1366
Email rep93@ohiohouse.gov
If you live in Ohio, find your representative at (800) 282-0253 or ohiohouse.gov
The Ohio Department of Health is seeking feedback regarding draft rules 3701-3-17, 3701-59-07, 3701-83-61, titled “Gender Transition Quality Standards and Reporting”. Deadline is Monday February 5, 2024.
Steps:
Read the proposed rules
email ODHrules@odh.ohio.gov
Fill out this form, putting “rules 3701-3-17, 3701-59-07, 3701-83-61” in the field “Which Rule or Rule(s) are you commenting on?”
Sign up to testify at the the public hearing (link not yet available).
The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services is also seeking public comment regarding O.A.C. 5122-26-19, and an amendment to O.A.C. 5122-14-12.
Steps:
Read the proposed rules:
email MH-SOT-rules@mha.ohio.gov, with “Comments on Gender Transition Care Rules” in the subject. Click here to launch that automatically.
Deadline: 5pm on Friday January 19, 2024.
The rules proposed by DeWine must go through the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), which maintains a website called Rule Watch. Rule Watch allows you to track proposed changes live.
Make an account on Rule Watch Ohio, the official website for JCARR.
At present, Rule Watch is conspicuously missing some of the relevant sections, but it’s expected they’ll update soon, however you can submit a comment on the Rule Watch platform now.
Sign up for alerts to keep on top of developments as they come out:
The following are tracking and alert systems for the state of Ohio:
Sign up for alert notifications from MHA here.
Sign up for alerts from ODH here, make sure to check off all boxes related to health, but specially “health facility regulation” as the current ODH proposal is (at the moment) in this subcategory.
Other updates are on the “draft rules” section.
Document library
Official documents from the state of Ohio as they become available online, including draft rules in full-text below. I’ve added backup links as state servers have been timing out or returning 404 errors.
PDF | MHA proposed Draft Rules 5122-14-12 🔗
PDF | MHA proposed Draft Rules 5122-26-19 🔗 archive.org | archive.org
PDF | ODH Jan 5 memo and rules 3701-3-17 🔗 archive.ph | archive.org
PDF | GOV Executive Order 2024-01D 🔗
Support local organizing!
There are several organizations fighting on the ground to protect trans rights in Ohio, and they need your support right now.
Sign up for Equality Ohio’s mailing list for updates as things unfold.
Donate to TransOhio’s emergency fund: tinyurl.com/transohiofund for cash assistance to trans folks directly impacted by these bans! From TransOhio: “These funds are to assist our trans community members and their families who urgently need access to care in a safe and more affirming environment. Our community supports each other.”
Follow and support organizers on the ground in Ohio
Equality Ohio | Twitter | Facebook | Linktree 🔗
Cam Ogden @CamomileOgden
For more information on the situation in Ohio:
Gender Analysis - Zinnia Jones: “Counterpoint: Ohio trans youth care ban veto was a victory for a gatekeeping surveillance state targeting trans adults” [ article ]
Truthout - Chris Walker - “DeWine Orders Ohio to Create New Rules Restricting Gender-Affirming Care” [ article ]
The New Republic - Melissa Gira Grant - “Mike DeWine Is Following the Right’s Vicious Abortion Playbook on Trans Health Care“ [ article ]
Erin in the Morning - Erin Reed - “Governor DeWine Uses Anti-Abortion Tactic To Target Trans Adults With Defacto Ban” [ article ]
