Ohio: Republican-Led State Supreme Court Blocks Ban on Sex-Change Treatment for Minors

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The Republican-majority Ohio Supreme Court last week unanimously refused to lift a temporary block on House Bill 68, a state law which would ban sex-change treatments for minors and prohibit trans athletes from competing in girls’ sports. Titled the “Ohio Saving Adolescents from Experimentation Act,” HB 68 was due to go into effect on Apr. 24 but remains blocked amid ongoing legislation.

The matter arose after the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed suit on behalf of two 12-year-old transgender Ohio girls and their families, who claimed HB 68 would block their access to “critical, medically necessary health care.”

As the litigation began, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Holbrook ruled in the lower court on the grounds that HB 68 likely violated the Ohio constitution’s single-subject rule: a key issue is whether a single judge in a single county can overrule the state’s legislature.

Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost appealed to the state Supreme Court, requesting a reversal of Holbook’s decision on the bill.

While agreeing to continue the block on HB 68, Republican Justice Pat DeWine wrote: “This case raises an important issue: Is it appropriate for one judge in a single county to issue a statewide injunction that goes beyond what is necessary to provide interim relief to the parties in the case?”

A spokesperson for Yost said in a statement to Ohio State News: “Four Ohio Supreme Court justices share our concern as to whether one judge in a single county should be able to speak for the entire state and overrule the legislature, but they question whether this is the right case for taking up the issue. We’ve got an early trial date, and we’re going to continue to fight for the lawfully enacted statute that Ohioans want.”

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