Nationwide Children’s hospital Halts Gender-Affirming Care Following Supreme Court Ruling
COLUMBUS, OH โ- Nationwide Children’s Hospital has discontinued the provision of gender-affirming care for minors, following recent legal developments upholding restrictionsโฃ onโฃ such treatments in Ohio. The hospital announcedโ it will continue to support patients and families through behavioral health services and other necessary medical care.
The move comes after โa series of court battles over House Bill 68, the 2023 ohio law โคbanning gender-affirming care for individuals โคunder 18. The law prohibits prescribing hormones, puberty blockers, or โgenderโฃ reassignment surgery to minors.โค It also prevents transgender girls and women from participating in femaleโค sports.
Initially blockedโ by an appeals court in March – which overruled โฃa Franklin County judge’s decision allowing the law to takeโ effect in 2024โ – the โขban was reinstated by the Ohioโ Supreme โCourt in April while the legal challenge continued. โคAttorneyโ Generalโ Daveโข yost appealed the appeals courtโข decision to the state’s highestโข court.Further bolstering โฃsupport for the ban, the U.S. โSupreme Court in june upheld a similar Tennessee law restricting gender-affirming care for minors. This ruling was viewed โoptimistically byโฃ Ohio Republicans,โฃ with Yost calling it “great news.”
The Ohio Supreme Court is currently scheduled to decide on the constitutionality of house Billโ 68. Despite the ongoing legal proceedings, Nationwide Children’s Hospital โคhas ceased offering the โขprohibitedโข medical interventions.