Protect Transgender Youth in Ohio Part II
Tonight, I sit in my living room with a sense of heavy sadness on my shoulders. H.B. 454, which was introduced in fall 2021, had its first hearing in the Ohio House Families, Aging, and Human Services Committee. This bill would make it illegal for transgender youth to access life-saving gender-affirming healthcare in Ohio, and it would criminalize anyone who attempts to help them do so. The hardest part of reading this bill in particular is that it was written under the guise of protecting children.
If this bill continues to move through Ohio legislature, it stands a chance at passing into law, putting every trans, nonbinary, and gender-diverse child and adolescent in Ohio at risk. As someone who is preparing for medical school with the intent of becoming a gender-affirming provider, I am sick to my stomach thinking of that possibility. What will happen to those youth? What will become of the generations following us if this part of themselves are made criminal?
Please share the following slides on your social media, and contact your representatives (information to contact them can be found here. H.B. 454 has not gotten much attention in the public eye because it is still in preliminary hearings. But based on other states’ track records, I fear that if we do not act soon, it will be too late.
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Protect Ohio’s Trans Youth
H.B. 454 was introduced in Ohio legislature in October 2021. Last night, it was presented to the House Families, Aging, and Human Services Committee for testimony, a first step towards passing the bill into law.
If H.B. 454 is passed, it will make it illegal for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse youth in the state of Ohio to access life-saving gender-affirming care.
It would also criminalize anyone who attempts to support transgender, nonbinary, or gender-diverse youth in accessing this care.
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Take Action
Contact the Ohio House Families, Aging, and Human Services Committee:
https://ohiohouse.gov/committees/families-aging-and-human-services
Contact the sponsors of the bill:
Rep. Gary Click
(614) 466-1374
Rep88@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Diane Grendell
(614) 644-5088
Rep76@ohiohouse.gov
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Learn, Give, and Support
Ohio is not the only state in which bills like H.B. 454 have popped up. These are coming up across the US.
Learn as much as you can about H.B. 454 by accessing the full text here:
https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_134/bills/hb454/IN/00/hb454_00_IN?format=pdf
Want to go a step further? Consider volunteering with or donating to an organization which directly supports trans youth, such as The Trevor Project or Trans Lifeline.
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Connect
Continue to learn from and support trans, nonbinary, and gender-diverse advocates and activists (this is not an exhaustive list):
Schuyler Bailar
Chase Strangio
Kayden X. Coleman
Ty Deran
Matisse DuPont
Dr. Blair Peters
Meg Emiko Lee
Chris Mosier
Cecé Telfer
Angel Joy Flores