HOUSE BILL 68
Summary of House Bill 68
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SPONSOR(S)
Rep. Gary Click (District 88) TARGETS LGBTQ+ students, especially trans and gender diverse students Healthcare providers Mental healthcare providers Family courts The Department of Health DESCRIPTION Creates definitions for "sex" and "gender" Restricts medical service provision from physical and mental health providers Requires annual reporting from healthcare providers to the Department of Health about patients accessing gender-affirming care Requires that courts shall not consider access to gender-affirming care for any youth during any custody dispute |
COMMITTEE
Senate Government Oversight Committee INTRODUCED February 27, 2023 BILL General Info | As-Written | Analysis |
What does House Bill 68 do?
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
Physicians cannot:
Mental health professionals cannot:
All mental health professionals who diagnose or treat minors for gender-related conditions must report annually to the Department of Health. The report must provide:
Penalties for violations include:
GOVERNMENT
Physicians cannot:
- "Perform gender reassignment surgery on a minor individual"
- "Prescribe a cross-sex hormone or puberty-blocking drug for a minor individual"
- Aid or abet a minor's access to the above types of care
Mental health professionals cannot:
- "Diagnose or treat" any minor seeking assistance with gender-related conditions without first:
- "Obtaining the consent of the minor individual's residential parent and legal custodian"
- Testing that minor for "depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and other mental health conditions"
- Screening that minor for "physical, sexual, mental, and emotional abuse and other traumas"
All mental health professionals who diagnose or treat minors for gender-related conditions must report annually to the Department of Health. The report must provide:
- The number of minor patients seen by that professional
- The sex of the minor patients seen by that professional
- The age of the minor patients seen by that professional
- Any co-occurring conditions experienced by the minor patients seen by that professional
- The number of minor patients seen by that professional who "resumed identification with their biological sex"
- The number of minor patients previously seen by that professional who are no longer receiving services
Penalties for violations include:
- Designation of unprofessional conduct and discipline by the applicable professional licensing board
- An individual may bring a claim for a violation within two years after the action
- A minor individual may bring an action before reaching 18 years old through a parent or guardian, or may bring an action in the after turning 18 years old within 20 years of the action
- The attorney general may bring an action to enforce compliance
GOVERNMENT
- Political subdivisions cannot prohibit the use of "watchful waiting," or the practice of withholding care
- Courts ruling on parenting and custody issues cannot consider any of the following when hearing a case:
- A parent's willingness to "refer to and raise the child in a manner consistent with biological sex"
- A parent's decision to reject or postpone affirming healthcare for a child
- A parent's decision to reject affirming mental healthcare for the child, even when "the child's perception is inconsistent with the child's biological sex"
- The Department of Health is obligated to collect an annual report from mental health professionals in Ohio who provide services to anyone with a gender-related condition, and to provide that report to the General Assembly
TAKE ACTION
HOW TO SUBMIT TESTIMONY
**DO NOT SEND TESTIMONY UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE HEARING IS ANNOUNCED**
STEP 1:
PREPARE YOUR TESTIMONY
Read tips for preparing and submitting testimony HERE
STEP 2:
EMAIL TESTIMONY DOCUMENTS TO COMMITTEE
Email a PDF of your testimony & this completed Witness Slip to
OHRPublicHealthPolicyCommittee@ohiohouse.gov and Rep8@ohiohouse.gov
**IMPORTANT**
Do NOT send your testimony until the appropriate hearing is announced.
You must submit your testimony 24 hours ahead of the scheduled hearing.
Indicate in your email that you are submitting opposition testimony this bill and ask for a confirmation of receipt.
All testimony will be uploaded HERE
STEP 3:
ARRIVE EARLY FOR IN-PERSON TESTIMONY
Arrive at least 1 hour prior to the scheduled hearing
There is convenient parking in the Statehouse Parking Garage
Sign in on the witness roster in the hearing room
**DO NOT SEND TESTIMONY UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE HEARING IS ANNOUNCED**
STEP 1:
PREPARE YOUR TESTIMONY
Read tips for preparing and submitting testimony HERE
STEP 2:
EMAIL TESTIMONY DOCUMENTS TO COMMITTEE
Email a PDF of your testimony & this completed Witness Slip to
OHRPublicHealthPolicyCommittee@ohiohouse.gov and Rep8@ohiohouse.gov
**IMPORTANT**
Do NOT send your testimony until the appropriate hearing is announced.
You must submit your testimony 24 hours ahead of the scheduled hearing.
Indicate in your email that you are submitting opposition testimony this bill and ask for a confirmation of receipt.
All testimony will be uploaded HERE
STEP 3:
ARRIVE EARLY FOR IN-PERSON TESTIMONY
Arrive at least 1 hour prior to the scheduled hearing
There is convenient parking in the Statehouse Parking Garage
Sign in on the witness roster in the hearing room