The override passed the Ohio House in a 65-28 vote, as chants of “Shame!” could be heard from the House gallery. The chants prompted a livestream of the House vote to be temporarily cut, reports NBC News.
The Ohio Senate will now vote on the bill, where a three-fifths majority is needed to complete the override of the veto.
If completed, the veto would make Ohio the 23rd state to have restrictions on trans-related care and the 25th state to limit the rights of transgender athletes.
According to Senate President Matt Huffman, the chamber has the required votes and will likely approve the override of the veto.
“No parent has the constitutional right to harm their child,” said Rep. Gary Click, the ban’s Republican sponsor, during the House proceedings on Wednesday.
“The same government that requires you to send your children to school, prohibits you from giving them illicit drugs and can charge parents with neglect and abuse also has the obligation to prevent parents and physicians from chemically castrating and sterilizing their children,” he added.
Rep. Anita Somani, a Democrat who previously served as a gynecologist for over 30 years, claimed her office received more than 1,500 emails in opposition to the bill.
“Trust science, trust the families, the parents, the patients and the experts who have testified repeatedly that gender-affirming care is a continuum designed to help people achieve their authentic true self,” Somani said. “It isn’t up to the government to make these decisions, and we need to stay the hell out of the exam room.”
Republican Gov. DeWine surprised many when he vetoed the bill late last month, after a series of conversations with doctors and families of trans youth.
“Were I to sign House Bill 68 … Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most: their parents,” DeWine said at the time, noting that such decisions should “be made by parents and should be informed by teams of doctors who are advising them.”
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