Detransitioner reacts to Ohio governor vetoing ban on gender reassignment for minors: 'Horrific'
Chloe Cole, a detransitioned woman, reacts to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoing a ban on gender reassignment of minors.
Detransitioner Chloe Cole had some tough words to offer Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine days after he shot down a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors in his state, lambasting his decision for allegedly being "complicit" in the "sterilization and mutilation" of children.
"Parents don't have a right to abuse their children. This is no different from any form of abuse," Cole said Sunday on "Fox & Friends Weekend."
"This is the sterilization and mutilation of thousands of children happening within a state that is being entirely complicit in the choice to continue this."
Chloe Cole testifies during the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government holds a hearing on gender affirming care for children. (Jasper Colt-USA TODAY)
DeWine, a Republican, vetoed the GOP-backed Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act on Friday, sparking outrage from conservatives who blasted him as a "coward" for his decision.
The bill would have banned gender-affirming procedures for minors in the Buckeye State and would have additionally barred transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
"Were I to sign Substitute House Bill 68 or were Substitute House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the State, that the government, knows what is best medically for a child rather than the two people who love that child the most, the parents," DeWine said in his veto message.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine pauses as he speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at The Ohio Governor's Residence in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
He additionally cited the "profound" consequences the bill could have on children struggling with gender dysphoria as well as their families and said his decision boiled down to input from parents who believed their children's lives depended on the treatment they received.
"Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life. Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio's children's hospitals. I've also been told by those who are now grown adults that but for this care, they would have taken their life when they were teenagers," he said.
Cole, who formerly took steps to complete a female-to-male transition and has since been among the most outspoken critics against gender-affirming care for minors, claimed DeWine's veto came just days after she shared her story with him during a Zoom call.
"When I was describing every step of the treatment, and especially when I brought up how young I was during every step, having been 13 when my puberty was suppressed, when I was drawn to androgens, and that I was 15 when my breasts were surgically removed, he was visibly disturbed," she said.
"He knows just how horrific this is to do to children. His decision to continue this… it's not just a matter of pure incompetence or ignorance."
Cole previously told Fox News Digital that she feared the painful side effects of gender transition procedures would never cease, adding that she had lost trust in her health care provider and perhaps even healthcare in general.
She revisited the discussion during Sunday's segment, telling Fox News' Rachel Campos-Duffy about the "lie" that "activist doctors" sold to her parents.
"They were told that the decision was either going to be between one [of] two things, either having a very suicidal and eventually dead daughter or a living transgender son - but that is not true. These children are not committing suicide because they were born in the wrong body. This is an entirely psychological issue and these children are not getting the help that they need," she said.
"They need psychiatric help. They need to know that they're perfect in the bodies that they were born with. If he [DeWine] truly believes in his heart that perfectly healthy children can be born wrong, that they need to be corrected, I think he should be expelled from office."
Governor DeWine's office declined a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Houston Keene and Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.