The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio announced Tuesday it filed a lawsuit on behalf of two families challenging the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which is included in House Bill 68.
House Bill 68, which includes the SAFE Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act, will take effect on April 23.
House Bill 68 violates the Ohio Constitution in multiple ways. We and @ACLU are determined to reinstate Ohio families’ right to make personal medical decisions with healthcare providers – not politicians.https://t.co/M7a8cBGbxv
— ACLU of Ohio (@acluohio) March 26, 2024
The SAFE Act prevents doctors from providing minors with gender-affirming care, which includes performing gender reassignment surgery and prescribing cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers, while the Save Women’s Sports Act prevents biological males who identify as transgender from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
The ACLU announced its intent to file a lawsuit to prevent the bill from taking effect shortly after state lawmakers successfully voted to override Governor Mike Dewine’s veto of the bill, as previously reported by The Ohio Star.
The ACLU and the global law firm Goodwin filed Tuesday’s lawsuit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of two families whose children are at risk of “losing critical, medically necessary healthcare” under House Bill 68.
The plaintiffs are requesting the court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from taking effect and to declare the ban on gender-affirming care unconstitutional.
The ACLU argues that gender-affirming care is “lifesaving healthcare used to treat those with gender dysphoria” and that House Bill 68 “violates four sections of the Ohio Constitution including the single-subject rule, the Health Care provision, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Due Course of Law provision.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who previously said he is “prepared” to defend House Bill 68 “against the inevitable legal challenge,” responded to Tuesday’s lawsuit, saying, “We protect children with various restrictions that do not apply to adults—from signing legal contracts to buying alcohol and tobacco and more.”
“As I promised during the veto override, my office will defend this constitutional statute,” Yost added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
