Is Ohio law banning gender-affirming care constitutional? Trial began Monday

Ohio’s transgender youth could get some clarity on their healthcare after this week.

The trial on the constitutionality of an Ohio law banning gender-affirming care began Monday. The trial is expected to last five days.

House Bill 68 was set to take effect in April after House and Senate Republicans voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto. The law would prevent doctors from prescribing hormones, puberty blockers or gender reassignment surgery before patients turn 18.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that puberty blockers for children who identify as transgender “generally leads to improved psychological functioning in adolescence and young adulthood,” but noted puberty blockers are not without risks.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a lawsuit on behalf of two transgender girls and their families claiming the law violates the Ohio Constitution which gives residents the right to choose their health care.

Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook temporarily blocked the law in April, agreeing with the plaintiffs that “puberty does not arrive by appointment.”

Lawyers outline disagreement over treatment for gender dysphoria

Freda Levenson, a lawyer with the ACLU of Ohio, said she plans to call five witnesses: two parents of two transgender children and three experts, including Dr. Jack Turban, a child psychiatrist who researches gender dysphoria and mental health among transgender youth.

“These witnesses will demonstrate that puberty blockers and former therapy are safe and effective medical treatment for gender dysphoria in adolescents,” Levenson said.

Amanda Narog with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office argued that what the judge will hear will be the same information the Ohio Legislature considered before passing the bill.

She said the state plans to call seven witnesses. including Dr. James Cantor, a neuroscientist who researches human sexuality and pedophilia, and a parent whose child originally said they were transgender before changing their mind and deciding not to transition.

Narog said the state’s witnesses will testify that gender dysphoria is a mental health diagnosis best addressed “by mental health interventions that pose no risk of physical harm to patients.”

Mother’s voice breaks as she recounts House Bill 68 discussion with her daughter

The first witness was Gina Goe who spoke about her 12-year-old transgender daughter Grace. Both Gina and Grace Goe are pseudonyms meant to protect Grace from harassment.

She said Grace’s sex assigned at birth was male but she behaved differently from her three brothers early on.

Goe said Grace expressed an interest in wearing dresses as a toddler and around kindergarten, she started to cry and ask God to make her a girl. The family’s pediatrician referred Grace to the THRIVE program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital which specializes in sexual and gender development.

Grace was diagnosed with gender dysphoria around the second half of her kindergarten year. Gender dysphoria refers to the distress a person feels when their gender identity does not match their assigned sex. Grace started using a female name around 2018, before starting first grade, Goe said.

Goe said Grace now lives as a girl and does not want people to know she’s transgender.

Goe’s voice broke when she described discussing HB 68 with her daughter

“I remember we were sitting on my bed together and I shared with her on an appropriate level what’s happening and she laid down and wept in my bed and I held her and since then, she has told me that she just carried this looming worry and anxiety and just this deep sadness surrounding it all,” Goe said.

Haley BeMiller contributed reporting.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the UA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.