Ensuring Evidence-Based Standards in Ohio’s Parental Rights Legislation

As a resident of Ohio and a consistent voter, I am writing to express my concerns regarding House Bill 693 and other Parental Rights legislation currently before the General Assembly. I believe that the foundation of a healthy society is a strong family unit supported by evidence-based professional care. While I support the fundamental right of parents to be involved in their children’s lives, I am deeply concerned that HB 693 creates a dangerous loophole that would allow medical and mental health professionals to bypass established standards of care. Ohio’s families deserve a healthcare system where parental rights are not used as a justification to provide substandard or ideologically driven treatment. Specifically, I urge you to consider the following: - Uphold Professional Standards: Psychologists and counselors should not be legally protected when they provide advice that contradicts the established standards of care for gender dysphoria. Parents and children alike rely on these professionals to provide the most current, evidence-based guidance—not to ignore a child’s expressed needs. - Prevent State-Sanctioned Neglect: By broadly stating that affirming a child's sex (and rejecting their gender identity) can never be considered in child welfare or custody cases, HB 693 risks blinding our courts and social workers to situations where a child's mental health is being actively harmed. - Protect the Pluralistic Family: Ohio is a diverse state. Many families choose to support their children through methodical, affirming transitions. Legislation should protect all families' medical privacy and access to care, rather than prioritizing one ideological approach over the physical and emotional safety of the child. I am for a state government that ensures our professionals are held to high, evidence-based standards. I am against any measure that allows the government or individual providers to ignore medical science under the guise of rights. Please vote NO on HB 693 and prioritize legislation that strengthens Ohio's social safety net and protects our most vulnerable youth.