One month after Dr. Amy Acton’s controversial comments about transgender athletes in sports, tensions continue mounting within Ohio’s Democratic Party over the gubernatorial hopeful’s position and its broader implications for LGBTQ communities across the state.
Dr. Acton’s campaign did not respond to our requests for comment for this report. We submitted questions on whether she supports gender-affirming care for youth, whether she would follow established medical recommendations, or how she has engaged with LGBTQ health equity in the state.
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The Democratic nominee for Ohio governor made headlines on June 30th during an interview with the Toledo Blade when she stated, “I do not support boys playing in girls’ sports. This is already settled law in Ohio, and as governor, I will enforce the law and uphold the law. As doctor, public servant and a mom, I will always stand up for fairness and protect kids’ health and safety.”
That language, critics argue, signals opposition to gender-affirming care for youth—a stance that contradicts established medical standards from major organizations including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Community Leaders Locked Out of Listening Session
The fallout intensified last week when a supposed listening session turned into a nightmare scenario for the Ohio Democratic Party. Not only did Dr. Acton not attend the meeting, but then her campaign staff blocked LGBTQ leaders from even entering the call.
Arienne Childrey, candidate for the Ohio House in the 84th District and Ohio’s first openly transgender city council member, said she was invited to attend but blocked from joining.
“Well, I think first it’s important to note that Dr. Acton was not on this call last night. It was her campaign staff, her campaign manager,” Childrey explained. “As a community leader in the trans community, I was invited to attend. And yet when I went to sign in, I was not allowed to join the meeting.”
The situation devolved from there. When another trans advocate requested clarification about Childrey’s exclusion, campaign staff replied that they wanted to keep the meeting production. When the advocate became angry and voiced it, campaign staff kicked them from the call.
According to Childrey, the entire progressive caucus of the Ohio Democratic Party, including leadership, was similarly refused entry.
“The only way I was able to hear anything from the call is a friend who literally put me on speakerphone on his personal cell phone so that I could hear parts of the meeting,” Childrey said.
There was no clarification of Acton’s position on transgender healthcare or athletes, no commitment to correcting what organizers characterized as misinformation, and no indication of next steps following community concerns.
National Stakes in Local Race
Childrey emphasized that the implications extend far beyond Ohio’s borders. She warned that the Democratic National Convention is closely monitoring the state’s gubernatorial race.
“If Dr. Acton throws the trans community under the bus and is not held accountable for that, that sends a message, first of all, to the ODP,” Childrey said. “And I will promise you, if there’s no accountability, this will become the Democratic Party playbook. You will see more candidates throwing LGBT communities under the bus for political expediency.”
Beyond the political calculus, Childrey noted the real-world consequences for transgender Ohioans, particularly young people. She described what she sees as a permission structure created when prominent candidates make statements she considers transphobic.
“We are seeing in our social media, Ohio Democrats who I loved, respected and worked for now echoing the same transphobic points that Dr. Acton made that they would’ve never said prior,” she said. “This gives that permission. That impacts our kids in our schools who are already struggling in Ohio as we continue to be one of the worst states for trans rights in the United States.”
Questions About Healthcare Record
Critics have raised additional concerns about Acton’s track record regarding LGBTQ health equity. During her tenure as Ohio State Health Director from February 2019 to 2020, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio reported the state ranked 47th out of 50 on health value. Quoting directly from that report, “Ohioans are living less healthy lives and spending more on healthcare than people in most other states.”
Furthermore, Acton was named as a defendant in a 2018 lawsuit brought by four transgender Ohioans seeking the right to update their birth certificates. Rather than working toward settlement, the department attempted to have the case dismissed that year. The court refused, and the case continued after Acton’s resignation in 2020, ultimately ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
From “A” Rating to “Pending”
Equality Ohio initially gave Acton an A rating on their candidate scorecard. But at the meeting they announced they had changed to “pending” following her comments. They explained that “pending” means there is opportunity to repair the harm that she has done.
However, when reviewing Equality Ohio’s candidate scorecard, they originally did not cite specific actions Acton has taken on behalf of the LGBTQ community, unlike recommendations for other candidates.
A Call for Accountability
Rather than accepting criticism for speaking out, she challenged fellow party members to hold Acton accountable.
“Rather than getting angry at me for speaking out as a trans woman, I challenge every single one of those Democrats in the state of Ohio, of which I am a proud Democrat, to challenge Dr. Acton because I and the trans community did not start this problem,” Childrey said. “Dr. Acton did when she made her comment, when she referred to trans girls as boys in girls’ sports.”
Following the controversy, Acton added language to her campaign website claiming to support anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ Ohioans in employment, housing, public accommodations and pay. The updated statement notably omitted healthcare and did not mention gender identity directly.
Childrey can be reached at arichildrey.com and on social media at @Ari4Ohio.
