USG passes resolution opposing ban on health care and athletic eligibility for transgender Ohioans

Grant Lieberman
Thu, 18 Jan 2024 20:20:06 +0000
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Ohio State’s USG voted in favor of a resolution opposing Ohio House Bill 68, which aims to ban gender-affirming care for minors and impact transgender athletes’ eligibility. Credit: Courtesy of TNS

Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government voted in favor of a resolution opposing potential bans on gender-affirming care for minors and transgender athletes’ athletic eligibility Wednesday.

The bans, which are part of Ohio House Bill 68, were initially vetoed by Gov. Mike DeWine in late December. On Jan. 10, the bill reemerged in the political spotlight after the Ohio House voted 65-28 to override the veto and send the bill to the Ohio Senate.

The emergency resolution was presented in opposition to House Bill 68 by fourth-year Parliamentarian Keyanah Peters, titled 56-R-19.

56-R-19 is essentially “a formal response in condemnation of [House Bill 68],” Peters said. House Bill 68 formally defines gender-affirming care as “any medical or surgical service provided for the purpose of assisting an individual with gender transition that seeks to alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for the individual’s biological sex.”

USG declined to present the resolution to The Lantern at the time of publication.?

USG Sen. Hanniel Diaz Elizarraga, a first-year in accounting, voiced his support for the resolution and how House Bill 68 could impact Ohio State.

“I think it is an amazing resolution. I know a lot of people who would be negatively affected by this bill,” Diaz Elizarraga said. “If [House Bill 68] were to go through, the Wexner Medical Center would be affected.”?

The bill would also enact the Save Women’s Sports Act, which would require schools, state institutions of higher education and private colleges to designate separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex.

Alex Poling, a fifth-year in environmental policy and decision making and Speaker of the USG General Assembly, expanded on the impact House Bill 68 would have on Ohio State’s campus and student body.

“The bill specifically impacts college sports,” Poling said. “I have spoken to a number of individuals who have expressed interest in this resolution. A lot of campus groups have asked to condemn this bill and have also asked university officials to speak out against it.”

After around 10 minutes of discussion and debate, USG resolution 56-R-19 passed with 15 votes in favor, three against and three abstentions.

Ohio House Bill 68 will be brought before the Ohio Senate on Wednesday, where it will need at least 20 votes to override DeWine’s initial veto. If overridden in the Senate, the bill will go into effect within 90 days of the vote.?

One week after DeWine vetoed House Bill 68, he issued an executive order on the subject, banning gender reassignment surgery for minors and proposing new administrative rules to govern transgender health care for adults. The proposal is open to public comment until Friday.

“Although I vetoed Substitute House Bill 68, I stated clearly in my Veto Message that I agreed with the General Assembly that no gender transition surgeries should be performed on anyone under the age of 18 and I directed agencies under my purview to draft rules to ban this practice in Ohio,” DeWine’s order said.