COLUMBUS, OHIO - Ohio is a Republican-run state with a Republican legislature and a Republican governor. One might think that as such, getting a law passed preventing biological boys from playing girls’ sports would be a no-brainer. Not if your governor has no spine and is apparently in the pocket of those who profit from pushing the trans agenda.
ZeroHedge reported that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, vetoed a bill that would have outlawed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for children. It would have also prevented no-talent male athletes from competing as females. In related news, DeWine apparently took over $40,000 in campaign finance cash from hospitals that prescribe those two therapies for children.
Signing the bill would have shown DeWine’s support for preventing the transition of children in Ohio hospitals. Instead, he evidently put the infusion of cash into his campaign ahead of Ohio children.
As reported in The Federalist Papers:
A review of donations from 2018 to 2023 reveals that the governor received a total of $40,300 from the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA), Cincinnati Children's, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and ProMedica Children’s Hospital.
The OCHA donated $10,000 to the Mike DeWine and Jon Husted Transition Fund on Dec. 28, 2018, and another $10,000 on Dec. 7, 2022, according to the report. This transition fund allows candidates to spend donations for “transition activities and inaugural celebrations,” as outlined in Ohio’s campaign finance handbook.
Affiliates of OCHA, such as Cincinnati Children’s and ProMedica, also made significant contributions. Cincinnati Children’s donated $300 on Dec. 15, 2022, and ProMedica, another affiliate of OCHA, donated $10,000 in December 2018. Nationwide Children’s, a third affiliate of OCHA, donated $5,000 in December 2018 and another $5,000 in January 2023 to the transition fund.
Two of those hospitals, Cincinnati Children’s and Nationwide Children’s hospitals, offer “gender-affirming care,” which includes puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, with no stated age limit guidelines for patients published.
During testimony on the bill, known as House Bill 68, Nick Lashutka, president of the OCHA, slammed the bill, claiming “it “strips away” the rights of parents and their transgender children,” ZeroHedge wrote.
Elizabeth Allen of The Federalist Papers wrote it was an easy line to draw between donations to DeWine’s campaigns and his last-minute veto of the bill.
In announcing his veto, DeWine said, “Were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is medically best for a child better than the two people who love the child the most–the parents. These tough, tough decisions should not be made by the government.”
The above doesn’t apply to vaccinating children, with the state mandating vaccines against fourteen different maladies. The requirement has three exceptions, including for medical or religious reasons or if “the disease is not medically appropriate for the child’s age.”
DeWine may have given himself some political cover, although News 5 in Cleveland reports that the Ohio House plans to override his veto. In fact, they are returning to the state capital early in order to do so. Republicans believe they have the votes to override DeWine’s action.
News 5 asked one of the Republican state representatives if there were enough votes to override the veto.
“Yes,” said Rep. Josh Williams, a Republican. “In the best interests of children, you don’t allow them to make life-altering decisions with a child’s brain; they cannot comprehend the long-term ramifications.”
To override DeWine’s veto, the Ohio legislature would need 59 votes.
“The governor is attempting to pull legislative authority from the Statehouse and place it in executive agencies under his control,” Williams said. “You can’t talk out of the side of your neck when you say to the camera that the government shouldn’t be involved–and then 20 minutes later you say, ‘but I’m gonna order the government to be involved.’”
That was in response to DeWine saying that he would look into “creating administrative rules addressing concerns, like looking into restrictions for full genital surgeries as a minor.”
The governor’s spokesman, Dan Tierney, lashed out at Williams’ suggestion of a power grab.
“The Governor has invited legislators to collaborate with agencies on drafting these administrative rules. The rules must be approved by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), which is a joint legislative committee that provides legislative oversight–a check-and-balance if you will–over administrative rules before they can be adopted,’ Tierney said in a written statement to News 5. “Given the Governor’s open invitation for collaboration and the statutory check-and-balance powers retained by the legislature, I would disagree with the characterization you provided.”
Legislative leaders have set a vote on Jan. 10 to decide on an override. Three-fifths of House and Senate members are necessary to override the veto, meaning 59 representatives and 20 senators. The initial bill passed with 64 representatives and 24 senators voting in the affirmative.
There is a chance that if some legislators cannot make the Jan. 10 meeting, there will not be a quorum to override DeWine’s veto.
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