Email prompt for anti-trans guidance

Please change the portions in brackets and

(1) EMAIL to MH-SOT-rules@mha.ohio.gov by 5pm 1/19/2024 with the subject line "Comments on Gender Transition Care Rules,"

(2) EMAIL ODHrules@odh.ohio.gov by 2/5/2024, and

(3) CONTACT Governor DeWine using the form at this link: https://www.governor.ohio.gov/contact

Feel free to add any personal experience or testimony of your own, this is just a template. Thank you for completing these important action items. Be sure to share the prompt with friends and loved ones. This needs to be a mass appeal, showing that the vast majority of Ohioans oppose these rules, because they do.

Hello,

My name is [NAME]. I am a [concerned citizen/community advocate/concerned trans person/medical professional/faith leader/activist/etc.]. I am writing to [the members of the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services/the members of the Department of Health/the members of the Committee on Agency Rule Review/Governor DeWine] in strong opposition to the new proposed rule, O.A.C. 5122-26-19 and the proposed amendment to rule O.A.C. 5122-14-12.

First, there have been no reported transition surgeries on trans youth from any clinic in Ohio. By specifically mentioning and outlawing gender affirming surgeries on minors, you are willfully spreading misinformation about how Ohio clinics have operated.

Second, this policy is fundamentally antithetical to trans people’s lived reality and ability to access healthcare in Ohio. This policy amounts to a near ban on gender-affirming care in Ohio. The requirement that clinics employ or contract with a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist, and a bioethicist will prohibit most clinics currently operating from continuing to provide gender-affirming care to their patients. Most clinics lack the resources to be able to coordinate and hire these specialists, particularly clinics available to trans people in rural areas of Ohio. The number of bioethicists currently operating in the state is extremely limited and will prevent most clinics from continuing to provide care for their patients. If this policy goes into effect, trans people who have been on hormone replacement therapy under the guidance of their physicians for years will suddenly be forced off of their medications. Being forcibly detransitioned by the shuttering of clinics and the disarray caused by compliance with these drafted rules will cause psychological trauma, increase the risk of interpersonal violence, and have dangerous health consequences, including menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, depression, and anxiety for those on estrogen, and fatigue, loss of libido, depression, and insomnia for those on testosterone. The gender-affirming care that trans Ohioans are receiving now is critical to their wellbeing, and this policy will effectively prevent them from obtaining it.

Trans people know [OUR/THEIR] own bodies, [OUR/THEIR] desires, [OUR/THEIR] needs more than any politician or bureaucrat could. Every major medical association has put out detailed treatment plans that have existed for decades. The American Medical Association in 2021 issued a press release in firm and strong opposition to restrictions on transgender medical care as it is “detrimental to the health of transgender and gender-diverse children and adults.” There is no need to renegotiate or relitigate this; it has been studied and settled by medical professionals. Until there is an appropriate challenge to the outcome of this research through medical channels, the government should follow what has already been decided by medical professionals.

Third, Section D and E of the proposed rules outlining the collection and sharing of de-identified aggregate data with the Ohio General Assembly and general public are extremely concerning. Section 3701.17 of the O.R.C. dictates that such health information is protected and to be kept confidential unless it is necessary to “(1) provide treatment to the individual… (2) to ensure the accuracy of the information… (3) The information is released pursuant to a search warrant or subpoena issued by or at the request of a grand jury or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation or prosecution. (4) The director determines the release of the information is necessary, based on an evaluation of relevant information, to avert or mitigate a clear threat to an individual or to the public health.”

There is a near future where patients are forced to publicly release their medical records to receive life-saving care in the face of intense scrutiny and violence, where politicians seek to discern the ‘accuracy’ of treatment information related to transgender healthcare and release such information for public study and input despite medical consensus on treatment, where the release of this information is necessary for the issuing of warrants or subpoenas to healthcare providers who cannot comply with these stringent rules, and where the presence of trans healthcare is seen as a “clear threat to an individual or public health.” Already, conservative politicians like Rand Paul and Ron DeSantis have likened the provision of transition-related healthcare to genital mutilation, and slandered trans and gender-nonconforming people as ‘groomers.’ Sections D and E would allow politicians to publicly name every trans person receiving transition-related healthcare in Ohio while making it appear reasonable, or even beneficial to trans Ohioans, despite the clear and present dangers of such a policy.

This is mass surveillance, even with “deidentified data.” By creating a database of all trans people receiving transition-related care in the state, you are opening the door to further policies making use of such a list. Trans and gender non-conforming people are a minority population scrutinized by the government and the general populace. The Trans Murder Monitoring Report found that 320 trans and gender non-conforming people were killed from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. The majority were trans women of color, and the age group with the most victims was 19-25 years old. Ohio has some of the loosest gun laws in the United States, and the ongoing culture war raging nationally over trans rights and gender affirming medical care has radicalized and misinformed many Americans. There are people who seek violence against [US/TRANS PEOPLE], and these rules and the collection of the names of every trans person in the state are a threat to [OUR/THEIR] safety.

Finally, the trans youth who are being targeted most by these rules face so much scrutiny and abuse from peers, teachers, parents, and other authority figures because of who they are. The traumatic experience of growing up without access to knowledge and medical intervention for gender dysphoria and transition has lead to innumerable suicides and mental health issues. The Trevor Project released data in 2022 stating that over 50% of trans youth from 13-24 have considered suicide. However, a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that trans youth under 18 who received gender affirming hormones had 40% lower odds of depression and suicide. Making gender-affirming care difficult to access while stoking anger towards trans people and medical providers will only add to the extreme mental burden trans youth face. By forbidding doctors from providing any information or resources about possible surgeries in the future, you are preventing trans youth from conceiving of a future where they can be happy.

Thank you for opening up these proposed rules for public comment. I hope you will take all that I have said into consideration when moving forward. Please do what is right and allow trans people to flourish in Ohio. [I know people who are potentially considering leaving the state over these new rules should they pass/I plan to leave the state if these rules pass because they would make life extremely difficult for me and my loved ones and I would not feel safe.] Consider the lives of all Ohioans and follow principles of human rights and justice. Everyone deserves a chance to live peacefully and happily, and these rules are antithetical to that.

Sincerely,

[NAME]