Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) raised eyebrows when he vetoed House Bill 68 on Friday — a measure that would have prevented biological males from participating in women’s athletics and barred doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children — but critics questioned whether campaign donations may have been behind the eleventh-hour veto.
According to a report published that same day by The Daily Caller News Foundation, between 2018 and 2023 DeWine had received some $40,000 in campaign donations from several children’s hospitals and organizations that support access to transgender medical treatment for minors.
The donations in question reportedly came from the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA) — $20,000, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital — $300, Nationwide Children’s Hospital — $10,000, and ProMedica Children’s Hospital — $10,000.
