DeWine would create barriers to health care for trans Ohioans
Posted January 19, 2024 in Press Releases
Policy Matters’ public comment to ODMHAS
The DeWine administration is considering rules that will harm transgender and non-binary Ohioans by restricting access to healthcare. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (MHAS) closes its public comment period on the rules at 5:00 pm today. (The Ohio Department of Health is accepting public comment on corresponding rules until February 5th.)
“These regulations deny bodily autonomy and basic human dignity,” said Policy Matters Ohio Budget and Health Researcher Kathryn Poe, author of the organization’s public comment. “Gender affirming care for transgender adults is broadly accepted by every major medical association as lifesaving, fact-based medical intervention.”
Gender affirming care is over 100 years old and supported by every major medical association. Ohio will join Florida as one of only two states to restrict care for transgender adults, although with different restrictions. Bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care for adults are still a rarity across the country — Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Missouri have attempted (and failed) to pass legislation with adult restrictions up to age 26. Ohio’s rules are part of an escalating national moral panic about gender identity as anti-Trans legislation continues to be introduced across the country in 2024.