3 witnesses testify in fourth day of gender-affirming care trial

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- There is likely only one day left in the trial that will determine whether minors can receive gender affirming care and whether transgender athletes can participate on teams that align with their gender identity in Ohio.

Thursday was the fourth day of the trial, and all about the defense, as they called three witnesses to the stand.

The defense is arguing for House Bill 68 to be upheld, and for it take effect as it was originally supposed to back in April. The law is meant to ban all types of gender-affirming care for minors, with the exception of a grandfather clause for some who are already receiving treatment.

“It’s hard to be a sexual minority and so the idea that this is a life-saving treatment, I think is based upon a great exaggeration about the rate of suicide,” defense witness and psychologist Dr. Stephen Levine said. “The suicide rate in trans-identified people is about exactly the same as the completed suicide rate of people who have schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. Its elevated, but it is still rare.”

Levine has been a psychologist for decades and has testified that he has seen families and patients with gender dysphoria. The defense submitted him as an expert in child psychology in Ohio, and the plaintiffs did not object. Levine testified that he believes gender-affirming care is largely experimental.

“In that it’s not proven the long-term efficacy, the long-term safety, the long-term guarantee of happiness is certainly not been demonstrated,” Levine said. “In that sense its experimental.”

He also testified that he would be supportive of an exception in the state law to allow for research.

“It would be ideal if we could design a multi-site, multi-state study with such care and deliberation that it would be possible to answer the question ‘What is the best practice for someone with gender dysphoria,’” he said. “I actually don’t think science has established what is best to do and so I don’t make recommendations for that.”

The defense also called Jamie Reed to the stand. She called herself a whistleblower for a transgender care center in Missouri, which she filed a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General for in January 2023.

She testified that she used to ask parents if they’d rather have a dead daughter or living son. She said it was not just “the danger,” of influencing the parents’ decision that concerned her.

“But also, weaponizing the kids in front of their parent,” she said. “We were giving them the language to just threaten suicide.”

But Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook, who is presiding over the case questioned the relevancy of her testimony.

“We are talking about something that has happened 400 miles away, what does that have to do with what’s happening here?” he said.

Friday is the last scheduled day of this trial. It is not a jury trial, so Judge Holbrook will be the only one to decide whether the law goes into effect after considering all the testimony and arguments.

You can find more about the witnesses the plaintiffs called, including parents of transgender minors, on the first day here, and second here.