This piece originally appeared in The Athens County Independent and appears here with permission.
Before a packed audience of mostly Ohio University students who spilled out into the hallway, Athens City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Monday declaring the city to be a “safe haven for transgender and non-binary individuals seeking gender-affirming healthcare.”
Council member Michael Wood, 3rd Ward, introduced the resolution at the Monday, Feb. 27 council committee meeting. Ohio University’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America drafted the resolution, with support from the ACLU of Ohio.
“I want to thank the groups that put this resolution together, and did a ton of homework and leg work on this; working with other community folks, reaching out to professionals and building a coalition,” Wood said.
Although the resolution was towards the end of the March 3 agenda, council members agreed to discuss it first so the community could speak on it without delay.
Wood read the resolution in its entirety and said that the council has a track record of “strong, bold” resolutions that affirm the city’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, while offering protections to individuals within different groups. “I think this is a great continuation of that tradition,” Wood said.
Several members of the public spoke in support of the resolution before it went up for a vote.
Indigo Steiner, a freshman studying social studies education at Ohio University, said Athens “was radically different in so many respects” compared to Steiner’s hometown of Logan.
“Moving to Athens and subsequently getting access to gender-affirming has drastically changed my life for the better,” said Steiner, who self-describes as transgender. “My self-confidence, my quality of life has dramatically increased.”
Spencer Stein, a second-year student at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, alongside several colleagues, wore their white lab coats. Gender-affirming healthcare is all about support of clients, which may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services centered around individual needs, Stein told the council.
“I am standing before you today, not only as a medical student desperate to ensure fair and equitable access to healthcare, but as a transgender person seeking to be more than just another statistic,” Stein said.
Noting the high rates of suicidal ideation and attempts and self-injury among the transgender population, Stein said that studies by multiple organizations — including the National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Medical Colleges — all determined that gender-affirming care saves lives.
“Each one of us has sought gender-affirming care in one form or another, and we all have our own history of being denied that care,” Stein said. “We are seeking a place where we do not have to enter a doctor’s office with fear or apprehension, but instead confidence that we will be respected as human beings.”
The resolution also asks the city administration to “adopt policies to further the city’s role as a gender-affirming healthcare safe haven,” including advocating for decriminalization of gender-affirming care and against prosecution or penalties for providing and seeking such care.
Additionally, the resolution asks the administration to “promote efforts that prioritize addressing current and potential threats to the safety and rights of the LGBTQIA+ residents of the city of Athens.”
Ohio lawmakers have passed several anti-trans measures, including last year’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors and trans girls’ participation in sports. Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill that requires transgender people to use the bathroom of the sex they were assigned at birth. 🔥
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