14 people testified against the state of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine proposed administrative regulations regarding transgender health care during a public hearing Monday morning.
The proposed rule would impact the care transgender youth receive in hospitals and require health care providers to collect data on the health care of both adult and youth transgender people.
“These are two very interconnected rules that collectively create a web of oversight for gender-affirming care and other regulations,” said Cam Ogden, an Ohio Equality Policy Fellow.
Many people present at the hearing agreed.
“They're unnecessary and incredibly harmful,” said Micah Mitchell, TransOhio's director. “They should all be cancelled.”
What does the proposed rule include?
DeWine first proposed the original rules on Jan. 5, a week after he vetoed House Bill 68, which would have banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth.of The House and Senate overrode DeWine's veto, and the law is scheduled to go into effect on April 24.
The originally proposed rule was People who have posted over 6,800 pages Number of emails to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
“Restricting or prohibiting transgender medical care for minors or adults is murder,” one email read. “I do not support the state of Ohio interfering with transgender people's medical care or pursuit of well-being.”
State officials released New management rules proposed in February Some major adjustments have been made.
Under the current proposed rules, youth May be accompanied by gender dysphoria only Receive sex change medications and hormones at a hospital that has both mental health professionals and endocrinologists who can treat minors. They are also required to receive at least six months of comprehensive mental health counseling and evaluation from a mental health professional.
The proposed rule would also require health care providers to report diagnoses of gender-related conditions, gender reassignment surgeries, gender reassignment services, and genital gender reassignment surgeries to the Ohio Department of Health within 30 business days.
This applies to adults and young people. The proposed rule would require health care providers to submit a form that includes a person's age and biological sex, but also the patient's name, address and “other personally identifiable information.” is not included.
The form also requires specific information about the treatment, such as the name of the drug or hormone.
ODH says it will share the aggregated data it collects with the General Assembly and the public by January 31 and July 31 of each year, “unless there is information that would lead to the disclosure of personal information at the discretion of the Director of Health.” Draft Regulations.
people submitted more than 4,000 comments on DeWine's new rule proposal.
“The department's proposal would add onerous requirements that would reduce the resources available for this type of care, even though it could save lives.” One email read: “Parents and doctors should be empowered to do everything they can to help all young people, including transgender youth, feel loved and accepted, but the department's regulations make it difficult to do so.” right.”
Those testifying Monday said they appreciated the changes made so far but were concerned about the harm the proposed rules could still cause if they go into effect.
“I remain concerned that this proposal continues to unnecessarily deprive transgender minors of their bodily autonomy and further stigmatizes already vulnerable Ohioans. Masu.” Mallory Gorski, Citizen Engagement and Advocacy Manager; Kaleidoscope Youth Center said in its testimony:
She shared the concerns of youth at Kaleidoscope Youth Center, which serves LGBTQIA+ youth.
“It is inconceivable that the government would record in detail how many transgender people there are in a particular area, along with their ages.”… It sounds like some kind of history we learned in school and we all know what happened with it,” one of the KYC youths asked to testify.
Oliver Licking from equitas health Highlighted issues with the data collection component of the proposed rule.
“It's an undue burden on health care providers to have to provide that data,” Licking said. “It's very concerning that it goes before the House and Senate.”
House Bill 68
of ACLU of Ohio announces lawsuit It seeks to stop the ban on gender-affirming care under HB 68 before it goes into effect next month.
“The litigation continues,” said Sean McCann, policy strategist for the ACLU of Ohio.
He did not say when the lawsuit would be filed, only that it would be before the law goes into effect on April 24.
TransOhio established an emergency fund after the passage of HB68 and distributed more than $10,000 to families looking to leave the state.
“We know that approximately 100 people have retired or are planning to retire in the past year alone, and we are confident that number will increase,” Mitchell said. “We continue to see a growing number of administrative regulations and laws that are detrimental and harmful to our communities.”
Ogden said this is the 26th public hearing held in the past year related to laws and policies regarding transgender people in Ohio.
“The community is incredibly tired,” Ogden said.
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