For the father, the matter was child’s play.
“I said, ‘I love you with all my heart. You don’t have to feel like you have to go through this alone,'” he recalled. “My immediate concern was keeping him alive, getting the situation sorted out and getting the best care.”
He said it was his responsibility to fight back against his party’s proposed anti-trans legislation – and a new court ruling.
A Republican judge in Columbus has allowed Ohio’s state law banning gender reassignment treatments for transgender youth to go into effect. The controversial House Bill 68 prevents LGBTQ+ minors from receiving treatments such as hormone blockers, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and some mental health services.
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook ruled that lawmakers could stop the medical care.
“That’s not consistent with being a parental rights advocate,” Colby said. “They’re passing laws without really knowing the subject and telling parents how best to raise their children.”
However, some Republicans in the Statehouse believe that personal freedom has its limits.
“We regulate what children can do because we understand that children are immature and not fully developed and should not be making these decisions,” said Republican Rep. Josh Williams of Sylvania.
Williams welcomes the court decision and says families should watch and wait.
“They must be given appropriate counselling to deal with this until they reach the age of 18 and can decide for themselves whether they want to adapt their external appearance to their internal feelings,” the lawmaker added.
Nothing prevents parents from promoting the social transition of their children, he said.
“We say these decisions have such serious lifelong consequences that children shouldn’t make them,” he said. “But as a child, we’re not going to support your inner thoughts all the time and force society to conform to them.”
Colby argued that lawmakers are not doctors and have not acknowledged research showing that this can be a life-threatening situation for children. Besides, 16-year-olds know their identity, he said, and undergoing gender reassignment surgery before puberty could help them combat their gender identity disorder.
“It’s infinitely more complicated than it’s made out to be,” Colby said. “Waiting until age 18 is unnecessarily cruel and uninformed.”
Colby is currently working with other Republicans to find a compromise that would allow children to continue to receive health insurance, but for now, he’s hoping that this court ruling will be overturned.
“I worry that some trans children will commit suicide or fall into substance abuse or depression because they are denied access to the health care they need,” he added.
The ACLU has just filed an appeal to the Tenth Circuit, where a three-judge panel will decide the matter. Seven of the eight judges are Democrats, so it’s likely the lower court’s ruling will be overturned.
That means the case would ultimately go to the Ohio Supreme Court, where Williams is confident the justices will rule in favor of the law.
“The legislature has the opportunity to regulate this behavior of doctors,” said the MP.
Child care is not a partisan issue, Colby said.
“Progress in civil rights in America is often slow, painful and ugly, but in time we will get it,” he said. “I think in time we will get it.”
In the meantime, Ashton is doing well, he said, and he hopes all parents can see their children happy and healthy.
“I am a father first and a Republican second,” Colby said.
