Ohio governor signs executive order banning gender surgeries for minors

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced an executive order Friday that will immediately ban transition-related surgeries for minors in the state, about a week after vetoing a bill that would have banned all gender-affirming care for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

“A week has gone by, and I still feel just as firmly as I did that day,” DeWine said at a news conference Friday, reaffirming his decision to veto the broader ban. “I believe the parents, not the government, should be making these crucial decisions for their children.”

DeWine’s executive order makes Ohio the second state to specifically ban transition-related surgeries for minors after Arizona passed such a law in 2022.

Since 2021, more than 20 states have enacted broader transgender health care laws like the one DeWine vetoed last week. These measures restrict all gender-transition care for minors, including access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy. A judge struck down such a law in Arkansas in June, and judges have issued temporary blocks, either partial or full, against restrictions in Florida, Georgia, Montana, Idaho and Indiana.

Major medical associations — including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association — support minors’ access to gender-affirming care and oppose state bans.

Surgery for minors is rare and is generally not recommended under standards of care developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to transgender health care. In the rare cases minors do receive surgery, it is usually a double mastectomy, also known as top surgery. Genital surgery is never available to minors.

Nick