The state of Ohio has sparked international outrage after passing a law that allows doctors to deny healthcare to LGBTQ+ patients.
Governor Mike DeWine said that Ohio's new state budget "speaks to what pulls us together and it reminds us that we have so much more in common than the things that pull us apart", per ABC5 News.
However, he failed to mention that it includes a new law that gives medical practitioners the ability to legally refuse treatment on moral, ethical, or religious grounds.
ABC5 reports that a 700-page document of amendments is a part of the budget, however, when a summary was posted to DeWine's website, he did not mention how they would affect LGBTQ+ people.
Reacting to the news on Twitter, one user wrote: "Ohio state legislature has just passed a nonsensical 'religious freedom' law that allows the denial of health services to LGBT+ if you have a 'moral' objection to doing your job. *sigh*."
A second added: "Ohio really signed a law allowing a doctor to refuse someone who is lgbt medical treatment because of their beliefs… I'm sorry but if you are a doctor and refuse to save a life solely because they are lgbt, then you are disgusting and should have your liscense revoked [sic]."
A third agreed, writing: "Ohio governor, Mike Dewine signed a bill that allows doctors to refuse medical care to LGBT+ patients if they have an objection based on “moral” grounds. Yesterday the bill which discriminates was passed into law. America! The land of the free? [sic]"
Gwen Stembridge, who works with Equality Ohio, said of the law: "It makes it clear that there are people who do not want the LGBTQ+ community to access healthcare and that is not ok.
"It should go through the committee process. It should go through the process that a bill goes through, sneaking it in a budget is sneaky and it's deceitful. It's a time when they knew people would be distracted and so they snuck it in there and it passed."
"The fear of going to the doctor and of knowing are they going to treat me equally? Am I going to get the care that I need? That is already the question and this just exacerbates that," Stembridge added.
However, despite the condemnation of people like Stembridge, DeWine did not take issue with the way the law would affect LGBTQ+ people.
"I think we have to respect people's rights and people's ability to make those decisions," he said.