Gov. Mike DeWine is one of only a handful of Republican governors to veto restrictions on transition-related care for minors or bans on trans student-athlete participation.

Gov. Mike DeWine is one of only a handful of Republican governors to veto restrictions on transition-related care for minors or bans on trans student-athlete participation.

Ohio’s governor vetoed a bill Friday that would have restricted both transition-related care for minors and transgender girls’ participation on school sports teams.

Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto makes him one of only two Republican governors to veto a restriction on gender-affirming care, alongside then-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2021, and one of only three Republican governors to veto a trans athlete bill after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb last year.

In a news conference on Friday after his veto, DeWine said the “gut-wrenching” decision about whether a minor should have access to gender-affirming care “should not be made by the government, should not be made by the state of Ohio,” rather it should be made by the child’s parents and doctors.