Dem
51
GOP
49
This is a little bit of a surprise, though it's surely not a coincidence that the news broke during the time people are least likely to be paying attention to the news, namely the week between Christmas and New Year's. After receiving a bill from the Ohio legislature that banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors, Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) vetoed it.
In the press conference where he announced the decision, DeWine observed that he has talked to many parents of transgender children, and has been told that, but for gender-affirming care, their children would be dead. So, the Governor concludes that vetoing the bill is the pro-life position. He also expressed his view that, as a small-government conservative, he doesn't think this is an appropriate place for government interference, and that these sorts of decisions should be made by patients, their parents, and their doctors.
For a period of time, particularly at the start of the pandemic, DeWine often presented as a Midwestern Chris Sununu or Phil Scott—a conservative, yes, but one willing to buck the party line when he felt it necessary. Then, for several years, DeWine went full MAGA. Maybe, now that he's term limited, he's done with Trumpism. Or maybe he just rebelled on this one issue. Or maybe he sees that these gender-affirming-care bans invariably get struck down in court, and he wanted to spare Ohio the time and expense. In any event, we pass it along because in addition to the liberal argument against these bans ("people should be allowed to express who they are without interference or prejudice"), there is a conservative/libertarian argument, as well. (Z)