The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a state law prohibiting minors from receiving gender-affirming care can be enforced as court battles proceed over the law’s constitutionality.
The state’s high court granted a request from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) to stay an appellate court ruling from March that blocked the state from enforcing the law, pending full review.
The two-sentence Tuesday order was issued by the Republican chief justice, Sharon Kennedy. Republican Justice Pat Fischer and Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner dissented.
“This cause is pending before the court as a jurisdictional appeal. Upon consideration of appellants’ emergency motion for stay pending appeal, it is ordered by the court that the motion is granted,” the order read.
The Ohio General Assembly, in 2023, passed House Bill 68, banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors. The bill was vetoed by the state’s Republican governor, but both legislative chambers voted to overturn his veto.
The ACLU of Ohio brought a lawsuit on behalf of two transgender minors challenging the legality of the statute. The law has been caught up in the courts for months.
“It is a terrible shame that the Supreme Court of Ohio is permitting the state to evade compliance with the Ohio Constitution. Our clients have suffered tangible and irreparable harm during the eight months that HB 68 has been in place, including being denied essential health care in their home state,” the ACLU of Ohio’s legal director, Freda Levenson, said in a Tuesday statement responding to the court order.
“The Court of Appeals was correct that HB 68 violates at least two separate provisions of the Ohio Constitution. We will continue to fight this extreme ban as the case goes ahead before the Supreme Court of Ohio,” Levenson continued.
Yost, who is running for Ohio governor, posted on X announcing the court’s ruling. In a statement to a Cleveland news outlet, his spokesperson, Bethany McCorkle, said the attorney general’s office is pleased that the law “protecting children from drug-induced gender transitions remains in effect as the case moves forward.”
“We look forward to showing once again that the legislature acted properly in enacting this constitutional law, which protects our children from irreversible medical decisions,” McCorkle continued in the statement.
The Hill has reached out to the attorney general’s office for comment.
