A new bill at the Ohio Statehouse would prevent doctors from prescribing drugs to delay puberty or perform surgery to change a child’s gender. Statehouse correspondent Jo Ingles reports on parental support of the bill.
Maria says doctors told her that her child was transgender. Maria doesn’t want to use her full name, but she says she believes medical professionals are experimenting with drugs and surgery on children like hers and forcing their parents into silence.
“They are afraid they will lose their jobs. They are afraid of trans activists that will find them and threaten them into silence. And we are afraid for our lives," Maria said. "But we are terrified that if this treatment continues as it is, we will be part of a medical catastrophe that this world has never seen."
The conservative group Citizens for Community Values supports the bill, which is still being drafted.
But Dr. Scott Leibowitz with Nationwide Children’s Hospital says in a written statement that evidence published by mainstream medical associations shows kids are receiving care that promotes healthy outcomes. Equality Ohio and TransOhio also oppose the bill.