COLUMBUS — More witnesses in the SAFE Act trial took the stand on Thursday.

What You Need To Know

  • Two more witnesses testified 

  • The topic of gender dysphoria taking center stage on the fourth day of the SAFE Act trial

  • Much of the discussion centered on gender dysphoria, which is the medical diagnosis for people whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth

The topic of gender dysphoria took center stage on the fourth day of the SAFE Act trial, as we get closer to potentially finding out if gender transition care for minors will be banned here in Ohio.

The state called two new witnesses to the stand Thursday, a psychiatrist who’s also a professor and a woman who worked in a pediatric transgender center. 

Both of them laid out the case of why transgendered minors shouldn’t be allowed to receive gender-transition care.

Much of the discussion centered on gender dysphoria, which is the medical diagnosis for people whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth.

The psychiatrist testified he does not recommend minors undergo gender transition care because he said they’re too young to comprehend the impact that the procedure would have on them later in life. 

As for the employee of the pediatric transgender center, she said the doctor at the clinic she worked at would provide hormones to children who were not diagnosed with gender dysphoria, sometimes on their first visit. She said the children should have had the opportunity for more therapy and an actual diagnosis. 

This follows the plaintiffs calling five witnesses earlier this week, including the two parents who filed the lawsuit. They claimed their child started showing signs as young as three years old that he wanted to be a girl.

More witnesses were expected to testify on Friday.