Lawsuit says Ohio’s gender-affirming care ban violates the state constitution

By JULIE CARR SMYTH and SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two families of transgender minors have filed a constitutional challenge to an Ohio law that severely limits gender-affirming healthcare for youth under 18. Tuesday’s lawsuit, brought in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and the global law firm Goodwin, alleges the law — enacted in January after lawmakers overrode a veto by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine — denies transgender youth health care and specifically discriminates against their accessing it. The legislation in question contains a ban on transgender surgeries and hormone therapies for minors, and it bans transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ and women’s sports. The law officially goes into effect on April 24.