DeWine announced the veto of the legislation, House Bill 68, Friday despite its overwhelming passage by the state legislature. The bill not only banned child sex changes, but it also prohibited biological males from competing in women’s sports.

“DeWine has fallen to the Radical Left,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “No wonder he gets loudly booed in Ohio every time I introduce him at Rallies, but I won’t be introducing him any more. I’m finished with this ‘stiff.’”

“What was he thinking,” Trump continued. “The bill would have stopped child mutilation, and prevented men from playing in women’s sports. Legislature will hopefully overturn. Do it FAST!!!”

The issue of biological males competing in women’s sports after identifying as transgender became controversial in the United States following University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas’s participation in the 2022 NCAA championships. The biological male, who previously ranked at #462 as a male swimmer, won the 500-yard women’s final and placed highly in other events.

Many Republicans criticized DeWine over the veto, including Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose of Ohio.

Trump endorsed DeWine during his reelection bid in 2022.

Some detransitioners, including Chloe Cole, who transitioned as a teenager before stopping, have filed lawsuits against medical professionals who carried out so-called “gender-affirming” procedures.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

DeWine vetoed House Bill 68 on Friday, which would have prohibited doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors and banned boys from competing in girls’ sports, just hours before the deadline. A review of donations from 2018 to 2023 found that the governor received $40,300 from the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA), Cincinnati Children’s, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and ProMedica Children’s Hospital, all of whom support transgender medical care.

OCHA donated $10,000 to the Mike DeWine and Jon Husted Transition Fund on Dec. 28, 2018, and another $10,000 on Dec. 7, 2022, according to the report. A transition fund allows candidates to spend donations for “transition activities and inaugural celebrations,” according to Ohio’s campaign finance handbook.

Cincinnati Children’s, an affiliate of OCHA, donated $300 on Dec. 15, 2022, to the fund and ProMedica, another affiliate of OCHA, also donated $10,000 in December 2018, according to the reports. Nationwide Children’s, a third affiliate with OCHA, donated $5,000 in December 2018 and another $5,000 in January 2023 to the transition fund.

The governor’s office referred the Daily Caller News Foundation back to DeWine’s comments on the bill and his veto. DeWine said last week that he was visiting hospitals that provide transgender procedures to hear families out on both sides of the issue but did not elaborate on which hospitals he went to.

Nick Lashutka, president of the OHCA, testified against House Bill 68, arguing that the bill “strips away” the rights of parents and their transgender children, according to The Guardian.

ProMedica, a member of The Ohio Children's Hospital Association and the largest hospital chain in Ohio also gave DeWine $10,000.

ProMedica seems to offer gender affirming care. pic.twitter.com/eVWWdhJdES

— Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) December 29, 2023

“These youth existed before we established our gender clinics, and they will exist if our clinics are forced to close,” Lashutka said.

A spokesperson for OCHA reiterated to the DCNF that DeWine visited with “clinicians and patient families of Ohio’s children’s hospitals.” The spokesperson also included a statement from Lashutka on the governor’s veto.

“We are thankful for Governor DeWine’s thoughtful approach in thoroughly researching the issue of gender-affirming care and vetoing Sub HB 68 today,” Lashutka said. “We welcome the opportunity to work with the Governor, the Ohio General Assembly and relevant state agencies to ensure Ohio’s youth have access to the critical care they need while also addressing concerns raised during debate on HB 68.”

Cincinnati Children’s has a Transgender Health Center that works with patients from five to 24 years old, according to the hospital’s website. The center’s frequently asked questions section explains that patients can get puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones with family consent and does not list an age limit.

Dr. Patty Manning-Courtney, the hospital’s chief of staff, also testified against House Bill 68, claiming that the impact of the bill would be “felt deeply and dangerously.”

Nationwide Children’s THRIVE Gender Development Program lists “management of gender-affirming medications, inclusive sexual and reproductive health care, menstrual management and other affirming interventions” as well as “fertility preservation options, puberty blockers or gender-affirming medicines” as services they provide, according to its website. The hospital does not note the age a patient must be to receive care from the program.

In 2021, ProMedica created an LGBTQ+ Patient and Family Advisory Council to educate healthcare providers on how to be more inclusive of the LGBTQ community, according to the Buckeye Flame, a local media outlet. The hospital said that the council was part of a larger goal to better include transgender patients and help refer them to medical facilities that can provide them with any care that ProMedica cannot.

A ProMedica spokesperson told the DCNF that the donations took place under “different leadership in place at the time.”

Cincinnati Children’s and Nationwide Children’s did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

Article originally titled, “GOP Gov Who Vetoed Trans Bills Received Over $40,000 From Children’s Hospitals Supporting Sex Change Procedures.”

Ohio’s legislature passed a bill banning sex-change procedures for minors on Dec. 13, but Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has yet to make a decision on the legislation just three days before the deadline.

House Bill 68 bars doctors from performing sex-change medical procedures, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries, on minors and bans biologically male athletes from competing in women’s sports. The legislation was passed by the Senate in a 24-8 vote and by the state House of Representatives by a 61-27 vote before being sent to DeWine, who has yet to sign the bill three days out from the Dec. 29 deadline.

A spokesperson for DeWine’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “the governor continues to review the bill.” If DeWine declines to either veto or sign the bill, the law will go into effect automatically.

DeWine said in an interview on Dec. 21 that he had been visiting hospitals to talk to families who support and oppose the legislation, according to The Associated Press.

Stella O’Malley, psychotherapist and director of Genspect, an international group that advocates for a “healthy approach to sex and gender,” told the DCNF that “many politicians feel paralyzed in the face of such hostility.”

“Many politicians choose to duck this issue as they feel they will be damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” O’Malley said. “It takes a pioneering and brave politician to grapple with this. But when we look at the astonishing rise in the number of people who regret their medical transition and make the difficult decision to detransition, it is clear that courage is required. We hope the Governor takes the time to read about these issues and comes to the right decision.”

Republican state Rep. Gary Click, who introduced the legislation, told the DCNF, however, that he “would not characterize the governor as hesitating,” explaining that DeWine was “performing due diligence.”

“Personally, I spent much more time before consenting to carry this bill,” Click said. “I respect that he is listening to all sides, especially when I know the facts are in our favor. The facts are on our side. The polls are on our side. The legislature passed HB 68 with an overwhelming majority. I am confident that when the governor considers the information before him he will do the right thing, which is to sign the bill.”

Hundreds testified in support and in opposition to the legislation, with some parents of transgender children and medical professionals arguing the bill would be harmful to transgender youth in the state, according to Fox 19, a local media outlet. A number of detransitioners spoke in support of the bill and one asked lawmakers to “close the door to harmful gender-affirming care.”

Both O’Malley and Click agreed that minors are not capable of consenting to transgender medical procedures and pointed to potential life-long side effects and health problems that have been reported as a result.

“These procedures impede the individual’s ability to orgasm and their ability to have children,” O’Malley told the DCNF. “Medical transition carries a heavy burden on the body and the risks of osteoporosis, heart failure and cognitive impairment are significantly increased by these procedures. Young people often feel indestructible. Sadly, as we age, we better understand risks.”

Nearly two dozen states have passed laws restricting sex-change procedures for minors, according to the Human Rights Campaign. A judge in Idaho ruled Tuesday against a state law signed in April, arguing that the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

The footage, which was first obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was taken by a security camera at an equipment plant in Salem, Ohio. East Palestine is around 20 miles away from Salem.

As the train passes the plant, what looks like flames and sparks can be seen in the video underneath the train cars.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is investigating the derailment, appeared to reference the video—and others—at a news conference in the days immediately after the incident took place on Feb. 3.

“We’re also looking at a lot of different footage that has been provided to the investigators out there to determine if there’s some data on footage that we have from videos and cameras that might tell us something more that what might have happened to cause this accident,” Michael Graham, a member of the NTSB, said in a Feb. 4 briefing.

‘Mechanical Issues’

At a follow-on briefing on Feb. 5, Graham said that investigators had also secured the locomotive data recorder earlier that day, along with forward- and inward-facing camera footage and audio recordings. Graham said the locomotive footage would be sent to a Washington lab for evaluation and analysis, before adding that other videos have emerged suggesting a possible problem with one of the rail car’s axles.

“We have obtained two videos which show preliminary indications of mechanical issues on one of the rail car axles,” Graham said at the Feb. 5 briefing, adding that the NTSB team was working to identify which rail car experienced the potential mechanical issue.

Graham said the train crew received an alarm from a “wayside defect detector shortly before the derailment, indicating a mechanical issue.”

“Then an emergency brake application initiated,” he continued, adding that a preliminary investigative report was expected within several weeks, though a full probe could take as long as 24 months.

Some of the footage was again referenced in a Feb. 14 update, in which the NTSB said that a surveillance video from a residence showed “what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment.”

“The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination,” the NTSB stated.

Investigators have found the suspected overheated wheel bearing, and engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington would examine it.

Investigators will complete their examination of the 11 tank cars that contained hazardous materials once they’re fully decontaminated, the NTSB said.

A total of around 50 train cars derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3, with some containing the toxic chemical vinyl chloride, which at high concentrations can be deadly.

Short-term exposure to the chemical can cause dizziness, headaches, and respiratory problems. Long-term exposure has been linked to various health problems, including liver damage, immune system dysfunction, and certain types of cancer.

The derailment prompted evacuation orders in East Palestine, a town of around 5,000.

The wreckage burned for days, and officials worried that the highly-flammable vinyl chloride could lead to an uncontrolled explosion, so crews engineered controlled detonations.

Besides being burned off in a controlled fashion, contaminants from derailed cars also spilled into waterways, with officials tracking a large “plume” of chemicals flowing down the Ohio River.

Around 3,500 fish have been killed by the chemical spill, according to an estimate by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, with around 7 miles of streams affected by the toxins.

Tiffani Kavalec, the head of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) water management subdivision, said in a news conference on Tuesday that the plume is on its way toward Huntington, West Virginia, and that it consists mostly of “fire combustion chemicals.”

Kavalec said that the plume is moving downriver at around 1 mph and becoming increasingly more diluted, adding that the Ohio EPA doesn’t believe the chemicals pose a threat to drinking water. The Ohio River is “able to dilute the pollutants pretty quickly,” Kavalec said, adding that “we are seeing very low levels of contaminants” in the river.

The EPA said that water sampling is being carried out at various points along the river to ensure drinking water is safe.

“State and local agencies are conducting sampling throughout the Ohio River to ensure drinking water intakes aren’t affected, and EPA is continuing to assist the state with sampling efforts at water treatment intake points along the Ohio River,” the EPA said in a Feb. 14 update.

Bottled Water Advisory

Ohio officials have urged some locals living near the train derailment site in East Palestine to only use bottled water amid concerns over the potential health impacts of hazardous chemicals that spilled into the Ohio River.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told a press conference on Tuesday that the pollution did not pose a serious threat to the 5 million or so people who rely on the Ohio River for their drinking water. Still, DeWine and other Ohio officials warned that residents using private wells near the derailment should only use bottled water.

“For right now, I think bottled water’s the right answer,” Ohio Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff said at the press conference. Asked by reporters whether he would return home amid cleanup efforts, DeWine said he’d be back home but would not be drinking water from the tap.

“I think that I would be drinking the bottled water,” DeWine said. “And I would be continuing to find out what the tests were showing as far as the air.”

“I would be alert and concerned,” he continued, adding, “But I think I would probably be back in my house.”

DeWine said on Feb. 8 that it was safe for local residents to return to their homes.

Lingering Questions

People in and around East Palestine have been asking whether the air and water are safe for their families, pets, and livestock after the derailment caused a fire that sent a cloud of toxic smoke over the town.

There have been reports of sick or dead animals and persistent odors, while the EPA said that a number of hazardous chemicals were found at the site of the derailment, including vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene, and butyl acrylate.

The EPA has been carrying out community air monitoring in East Palestine around the clock, saying in Tuesday’s update that it has “not detected any levels of health concern in the community that are attributed to the train derailment.”

As of Tuesday, the agency had screened 396 homes, and “no detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were identified,” the EPA said.

But while the EPA has said that air monitoring hasn’t detected any hazards to health associated with the derailment, some locals have told media outlets that their health has suffered since returning home.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report. Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.