Parental Right to Harm - HB693

From our partners at Equality Ohio.

Parental Right to Harm Bill (HB 693)

Earlier this week, State Reps. Josh Williams and Gary Click introduced House Bill 693, the so-called “Affirming Families First Act”, which is a new and terrible effort to embed harmful anti-LGBTQ+ ideology into Ohio family law. 

This bill is broad and complicated, and it uses confusing new terminology throughout. While we’re used to the word “affirm” in the context of gender-affirming care and supporting LGBTQ+ folks, this bill uses the newly-defined phrase “affirm a child’s sex” to mean the opposite — rejecting a child’s preferred gender identity and insisting on treating them in accordance with their sex assigned at birth. While our analysis is ongoing, here is what we know about the four pillars that comprise this bill:

1. This legislation creates a right to conversion therapy for parents who are “affirming a child’s sex.” While fortunately on the surface this doesn’t seem to impact sexual orientation, it does create a substantial risk for our trans, non-binary, and genderfluid children in unaccepting or even abusive homes. Additionally, this could potentially queue up legal battles for the many localities we have worked with to pass conversion therapy bans in the past. Currently in Ohio there are 16 municipalities which could be affected if this passes.

2. The bill prohibits judges and child protective services from treating a parent’s so-called “affirmation” of a child’s sex assigned at birth as abuse, neglect, unsafe, or contrary to a child’s best interest — regardless of the specific facts of the case, and even when evidence shows the parent’s conduct is causing serious emotional or psychological harm. That means courts would be barred from weighing conduct aimed at suppressing or overriding a child’s gender identity when making custody or placement decisions, and, by stripping courts and child welfare professionals of the discretion to accurately evaluate these cases, the bill ties the hands of the people charged with serving as the last line of defense to protect kids from abuse and long-term harm. 

3. Licensure for doctors, teachers, therapists, and other professionals could be at risk if they use gender-affirming language. In particular, it prohibits state regulatory entities from requiring as a condition of licensure that professionals who “work with minor children refer to or treat a minor child in a manner that is inconsistent with the minor child's sex or deny care that affirms a minor child's sex.” First, we need to remember that in the context of this bill they use “affirmation” as meaning “affirming” the child’s sex assigned at birth. This means that professionals working most directly with children experiencing gender dysphoria can no longer acknowledge the risk, neglect, and unsafe environments that it can create when that child’s identity is ignored, suppressed, or forced to conversion therapy. 

4. Data collection from most levels of Ohio government regarding kids’ LGBTQ+ identities would be prohibited, effectively making our LGBTQ+ children invisible in the eyes of Ohio. In a press conference that followed the introduction of HB 693, the sponsors pointed to Cuyahoga County’s Affirm Me studies which collected basic and vital information on improving care and visibility of LGBTQ+ youth involved in the Division of Children and Family Services. When the government is meant to serve and represent all Ohioans, this legislation directly stops the flow of information and reduces transparency. This doesn’t allow public policy to be reflective of the people it affects, schools can’t craft inclusive policies, and health organizations or child welfare systems can’t learn about the disparate outcomes we know our community faces.  

Who’s backing this?

Both of the bill’s sponsors are known for introducing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that’s out of touch with everyday Ohioans. Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.) recently introduced legislation to create “Natural Families Month” in Ohio. Meanwhile, Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) is almost exclusively known for his legislative attacks against LGBTQ+ Ohioans. His most significant legislative accomplishment was passing the ban on gender-affirming care for minors, but his anti-trans crusade has also led him to sponsor completely bizarre bills, like his attempt to officially create “Detrans Awareness Day” during the last General Assembly. 

Two well-known anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups also appeared with the sponsors in the press conference supporting the bill — the Center for Christian Virtue and the Heritage Foundation, both of which have signed onto the campaign which recently made child welfare the centerpiece of their attempt to overturn the right to marriage equality. Given how popular the right to marriage equality is, even amongst Republicans, it’s helpful to point out that these are the same groups backing the campaign to overturn Obergefell. These aren’t benign good-faith actors who happened to stumble on something they didn’t like in Ohio family law — they have a concerted anti-LGBTQ+ agenda they’ve been pushing for years, if not decades.

It's also worth pointing out that not very many of the House Republicans signed on as cosponsors of this bill. Other anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been cosponsored by the vast majority House Republicans. This bill only has 13 cosponsors (meaning 15 of the 65 House Republicans are either sponsors or cosponsors of it) — almost all of whom are fringe far-right legislators who aren't considered particularly serious policymakers in Statehouse circles.

HB 693 is not law — and it’s far from becoming law. 

Since HB 693 was just introduced this week, we have time! We are currently closely monitoring which committee it will be assigned to next week, as this will inform us which key members we need to target and how likely or unlikely they will be to schedule this bill for hearings. Additionally, we know that the House and Senate are expected to have a mini-recess in April, continue working until mid-June, and recess until after the general election in November. Through all of that they will have to deal with a slew of other actually important and pressing issues to deal with — like property taxes, the capital budget, data centers, immigration, nursing homes, and education. 

Also, if you notice the bill number, that means there have been at least 692 other bills introduced in the House alone, not accounting for bills in the Senate or the ones that are following this bill’s introduction. While we will strongly pursue public advocacy via testimony, direct contact with legislators, and the media, this bill also has to fight the clock — and every week it isn’t scheduled for a hearing is a win.

What can we do now?

Since this bill is so new and very complex, it requires a thorough analysis to ensure we’re confident in what its impact will be and to not raise alarm bells when we don’t have to right now. However, this bill is so flagrantly against child welfare in this state that we can not be quiet right now. Therefore, please join us in our advocacy efforts and contact your state legislators to #RejectTheMyth, oppose HB 693, and share your personal story of how your LGBTQ+ identity has shaped you and the harm that can be done in unaccepting environments. We have long known there’s not a closet big enough for all of us to go back into and so we must now show legislators that their narrow box of options and forced assimilation will not work. 

• Visit https://findmydistrict.ohiosos.gov/ to find and contact your state legislators.

• Watch the press conference on the introduction of HB 693 yourself: https://ohiochannel.org/programs/press-conference-2-10-2026-announcing-the-affirming-families-first-act

• Share Equality Ohio’s official statement here.