Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill that would have banned gender-reassignment treatment for minors and blocked transgender women and girls from participating in female sports leagues in Ohio on Friday.
The Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which passed Ohio’s GOP-dominated state legislature this month, was shot down by DeWine who said he could not sign the bill “as it is currently written.”
“This bill would impact a very small number of Ohio children. But, for those children who face gender dysphoria and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound,” DeWine said during a press conference.
“Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life. Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals. I’ve also been told by those who are now grown adults that but for this care, they would have taken their life when they were teenagers.”