Letter from the Athenians for Bodily Autonomy on Ohio’s legislation

Please note that the views of this letter do not reflect those of The New Political.

We are writing because we are concerned and outraged that bodily autonomy is under attack in Ohio. Bodily autonomy means that everyone should have control over their own body. This includes the reproductive freedom to decide if, how and when one becomes pregnant or gives birth. This also includes freedom from sexual assault and violence, the right to modify one’s body in gender-affirming ways, freedom of movement and migration, and freedom from state violence directed at the body, including: incarceration, torture and capital punishment.

It is clear to us that Ohio does not share these values. A slew of renewed and escalated attacks on bodily autonomy is imminent. For example, many readers are undoubtedly aware that an abortion ban will force pregnant people to give birth against their will or risk criminalization.  

At least three proposed bills also target trans and queer youth. Senate Bill 132, the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” will ban trans student athletes from competing as their real gender while banning intersex student athletes from competing. Any student athlete suspected of being trans or intersex can be forced to undergo an internal and external genital examination, along with other medical tests. In other words, this law codifies the sexual assault of children and college athletes. 

House Bill 454, the proposed “Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE)” act, meanwhile, is not “safe” at all. If passed, it will ban trans youth from obtaining gender-affirming healthcare. It is already illegal for trans youth to undergo gender-affirming surgery. Still, this bill goes a step further by banning trans youth from accessing hormone replacement therapy or even taking puberty blockers. This forces kids to go through traumatic, undesired puberty. Hormone treatments and puberty blockers reduce a trans child’s chance of suicidality by 73% (Tordoff et al., 2022). 

Lastly, Ohio’s own “Don’t Say Gay,” House Bill 616, will force educators to deny the existence of LGBTQ people and ban them from teaching about racism or risk losing their teaching licenses and funding for their school district. Intersectionality is also defined in the bill as “inherently racist,” which is absurd. 

We could debate the necessity of voting, but its insufficiency is clear. We urge readers to build a community of resistance and resilience. Meet with your neighbors, talk about your concerns, and act to protect each other.

Note: This letter was lightly edited for spelling and grammar.