I’ve left a little note with some actual, factual bio info on her Bluesky page. Reminded her that she’s a doctor and she should know better. The wingnuts have an attack ad stating that she lacks sufficient medical knowledge. Perhaps they are right. She seems to be really out of touch and out of control. Bad candidate.
It’s even more disappointing that she was a resident in pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. NW Children’s has been critical to my son’s health and thankfully is far more enlightened than Acton.
I am truly weary of the "boys playing girls sports" lie. ANYONE who tells themselves that a boy would tolerate all the bullying, physical abuse, and ostracism that comes from playing on a girls' team knows nothing (or more correctly REMEMBERS nothing) about school yard dynamics. Merely being "different" gets one beaten up routinely. Why would a boy embrace that assurance simple to gain a plastic trophy? If someone born with male genitalia is willing to put up with all the ensuing abuse, there is something far more basic involved than a simple wish to "dominate" a sport. Maybe, just maybe, that person is actually so committed to their femininity that they're willing to suffer for it. But then, I'M not trying to win over a population willing to persecute an incredibly small minority, just to gain a few MAGA votes.
In grad school, I had a work study job in the sports dept. The men's football team didn't play well but got a new stadium. The women's volleyball team who won championships. got a corner of a field.
And yet, we have a president who accepted a peace prize from FIFA and the actual peace prize from its actual recipient. I guess he would have been grateful for the opportunity to win bigly in sports if only he would have been permitted to play on a women’s team. Not to mention his being a pervert and having the opportunity to get his rocks off in the women’s locker room. The crap he and his ilk are spewing, it’s all projection. 🤯
Or maybe he wouldn’t have excelled? 😏 I mean, girl or boy, young woman or young man, or non-binary, one needs to be somewhat athletic or talented in some way. (Edit: what he’s proven to be good at is manipulation and cheating.)
I wish our allies would say this more loudly. Especially conservative frame it as they are against "biological men in women's sports". Our allies should wholeheartedly agree and then point out the trans women are not biological men, our biology has been medically changed.
The cowardice of "moderate" Democrats just takes my breath away. The "run to the middle" crowd literally DOES NOT CARE whom they trample as they pursue their own power and self-aggrandizement.
Then I must advise, don't look at the rhetoric from Vicente Gonzales or Henry Cuellar...
Although in fairness, those two nitwits are more Diet MAGA rather than proud Democrats... and if either of them win, it's only because voters are so angry with Trump rather than the content of their character or policies.
In general I can't help but notice the officeholders unable or unwilling to protect trans kids from literal genocide should be expected to prioritize their career over the Republic/public good.
Or as said succinctly in a country song, "you've gotta stand for somethin' or you'll fall for anything".
It is possible, but it means getting our hands dirty to take out the trash from our party. Sadly this already difficult task is rendered even more Herculean by leadership, like when Nancy Pelosi did everything she could to stomp on Jessica Cisneros to save Henry Cuellar.
Who, exactly, is the constituency that really wants to vote for Acton, if only she were a little more awful to trans people? Half a dozen TERFs, maybe?
99%+ of the anti-trans vote is already in the bag for the Republican. Whatever she personally believes, that was a politically dumb thing to say.
And that's just not my opinion; as noted in the article, the evidence strongly supports the idea that anti-trans attacks are not effective when Donald Trump isn't on the ballot, and maybe not even when he is.
Hate to say it but I almost hope she loses for the sake of the long game. If democrats learn that they can ignore us or even attack us without harm or even with benefit then THEY’LL NEVER SUPPORT US AGAIN. Politicians aren’t the type of people to sideline a winning horse just bc it’s the right thing to do.
Also it’s so painful and cruel when they say protect people from us as if we’re not people or as if we don’t deserve protection.
Hope she doesn’t expect support from trans women and girls when maggots go after women’s sports altogether (which they swiftly moved to doing after “protecting” women’s sports from trans women).
I just contributed to the campaigns of seven Democratic gubernatorial candidates; I really want to do my part to break the MAGA hold on governments across the US.
But I did NOT contribute to your/Amy's campaign, even though OATH.com says that my money would have the greatest impact there out of any of the governor's races. I can't bring myself to contribute, given Amy's recent strong embrace of Ohio's draconian transgender sports ban. As a doctor, you should know that the MAGA treatment of transgender people (and particularly trans girls and women) has no basis in science. A transgender girl is NOT a boy!
Please educate yourself and retract your cruel statement, so I will be able to support your campaign and fight back against MAGA.
I think that you are learning that any MAGA or TERF support you might gain from that stance will be much less than the support you will lose from trans people and their army of family, friends, and other supporters.
This is really great. I know her husband and step kids from high school and I sent my own note offering a conversation with someone trans from her community
Dr. Acton should be ashamed of herself for supporting the anti-transgender bills passed in Ohio. Before taking that position, did she review the medical evidence or consider the physical and psychological harm these laws can cause? I doubt it.
Like too many others, she appears to have little understanding of what it means to be transgender or what it is like to face unnecessary government restrictions on medically appropriate care. As a physician, she should know that major medical organizations have published evidence-based guidance on this issue. That is why I question her judgment on this matter and whether she has fully considered the medical evidence before supporting these policies.
I wonder if any of these anti-trans politicians, whether Dems or Repubs, have ever stopped to consider that if you are going to ban transgender kids from school sports, that will require identifying and proving who is transgender. That means forcing parents to produce birth certificates - which can be a lengthy and costly process depending on the state - and/or submitting their kids to genital exams or even genetic tests. Also, it invites scrutiny of child athletes - both cis and trans - based on physical gender conformity (or not). Also, most likely boys won’t have to undergo this scrutiny, it will just be the girls. The overall result will be to degrade girls sports, just to prevent a vanishingly small number of marginalized kids from playing. Is this really the world that parents of non-trans kids want?
Oh wow, is this yet another example of a strong candidate sabotaging their own prospects to pander to republicans?
I'm willing to bet money that trans people make up more than 1-2% of likely voters in the democratic party and even more likely voters in the primary.
If any representative ends up reading my comment, please just know that it is very easy to argue against trans sport bans. Reject the framing and reject ignorance. Just say "Republicans cherry pick studies that compare men to women and use that to justify banning trans girls. The ONLY relevant studies are ones that compare trans women to cis women."
Thank you for drawing attention to this, we cannot allow any defections to go unanswered
This feels like “game over” in Ohio. I suspect that many people will stay home and not vote. Or leave that portion of the ballot blank. Not all, but many—enough to lose in a close race. (Like Erin said.)
I live in Ohio and co-hosted a home event for Dr. Acton last year. I was appalled at her response and emailed the campaign several times. This is not an endorsement of her opponent, but a sad realization that she was either looking for certain votes or has this opinion. There is an opportunity for her to clarify and correct her statement, and I hope she decides it is a necessity. Alienating those who have supported her and were willing to put in the time to get her elected is a terrible choice.
I’ve left a little note with some actual, factual bio info on her Bluesky page. Reminded her that she’s a doctor and she should know better. The wingnuts have an attack ad stating that she lacks sufficient medical knowledge. Perhaps they are right. She seems to be really out of touch and out of control. Bad candidate.
I posted a copy of the aforementioned response on my page here. I can give “Doctor Amy” another dose soon too. She’s about due!
https://bsky.app/profile/daveoldbrooklyn.bsky.social/post/3mqshxupa2c2v
It’s even more disappointing that she was a resident in pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. NW Children’s has been critical to my son’s health and thankfully is far more enlightened than Acton.
in a Democratic society, when the majority population stops defending the minority populations, it stops being a democracy and starts being a mob.
I am truly weary of the "boys playing girls sports" lie. ANYONE who tells themselves that a boy would tolerate all the bullying, physical abuse, and ostracism that comes from playing on a girls' team knows nothing (or more correctly REMEMBERS nothing) about school yard dynamics. Merely being "different" gets one beaten up routinely. Why would a boy embrace that assurance simple to gain a plastic trophy? If someone born with male genitalia is willing to put up with all the ensuing abuse, there is something far more basic involved than a simple wish to "dominate" a sport. Maybe, just maybe, that person is actually so committed to their femininity that they're willing to suffer for it. But then, I'M not trying to win over a population willing to persecute an incredibly small minority, just to gain a few MAGA votes.
In grad school, I had a work study job in the sports dept. The men's football team didn't play well but got a new stadium. The women's volleyball team who won championships. got a corner of a field.
And yet, we have a president who accepted a peace prize from FIFA and the actual peace prize from its actual recipient. I guess he would have been grateful for the opportunity to win bigly in sports if only he would have been permitted to play on a women’s team. Not to mention his being a pervert and having the opportunity to get his rocks off in the women’s locker room. The crap he and his ilk are spewing, it’s all projection. 🤯
I suppose he might have excelled in girls' sports, except for those darn bone spurs! Darn the bad luck.
Or maybe he wouldn’t have excelled? 😏 I mean, girl or boy, young woman or young man, or non-binary, one needs to be somewhat athletic or talented in some way. (Edit: what he’s proven to be good at is manipulation and cheating.)
Transgender women are not men! She just revealed how ignorant she is.
I wish our allies would say this more loudly. Especially conservative frame it as they are against "biological men in women's sports". Our allies should wholeheartedly agree and then point out the trans women are not biological men, our biology has been medically changed.
The cowardice of "moderate" Democrats just takes my breath away. The "run to the middle" crowd literally DOES NOT CARE whom they trample as they pursue their own power and self-aggrandizement.
Then I must advise, don't look at the rhetoric from Vicente Gonzales or Henry Cuellar...
Although in fairness, those two nitwits are more Diet MAGA rather than proud Democrats... and if either of them win, it's only because voters are so angry with Trump rather than the content of their character or policies.
Cuellar is totally unreliable.
Cuellar also got pardoned by trump for political corruption. He’s anti-trans, corrupt, and beholden to trump. Needs to go.
Completely agree.
In general I can't help but notice the officeholders unable or unwilling to protect trans kids from literal genocide should be expected to prioritize their career over the Republic/public good.
Or as said succinctly in a country song, "you've gotta stand for somethin' or you'll fall for anything".
Sometimes I like to imagine a world where democrats have spines and don't cede the narrative to Republicans at the first opportunity every time.
It is possible, but it means getting our hands dirty to take out the trash from our party. Sadly this already difficult task is rendered even more Herculean by leadership, like when Nancy Pelosi did everything she could to stomp on Jessica Cisneros to save Henry Cuellar.
Who, exactly, is the constituency that really wants to vote for Acton, if only she were a little more awful to trans people? Half a dozen TERFs, maybe?
99%+ of the anti-trans vote is already in the bag for the Republican. Whatever she personally believes, that was a politically dumb thing to say.
And that's just not my opinion; as noted in the article, the evidence strongly supports the idea that anti-trans attacks are not effective when Donald Trump isn't on the ballot, and maybe not even when he is.
Hate to say it but I almost hope she loses for the sake of the long game. If democrats learn that they can ignore us or even attack us without harm or even with benefit then THEY’LL NEVER SUPPORT US AGAIN. Politicians aren’t the type of people to sideline a winning horse just bc it’s the right thing to do.
Also it’s so painful and cruel when they say protect people from us as if we’re not people or as if we don’t deserve protection.
Hope she doesn’t expect support from trans women and girls when maggots go after women’s sports altogether (which they swiftly moved to doing after “protecting” women’s sports from trans women).
I agree. Losing one state is much better than winning with this tactic and encouraging every “purple” race democrat to do the same.
I agree. Pro long game here.
Here's the email that I just sent to her campaign (info@actonforgovernor.com):
To Amy Acton,
I just contributed to the campaigns of seven Democratic gubernatorial candidates; I really want to do my part to break the MAGA hold on governments across the US.
But I did NOT contribute to your/Amy's campaign, even though OATH.com says that my money would have the greatest impact there out of any of the governor's races. I can't bring myself to contribute, given Amy's recent strong embrace of Ohio's draconian transgender sports ban. As a doctor, you should know that the MAGA treatment of transgender people (and particularly trans girls and women) has no basis in science. A transgender girl is NOT a boy!
Please educate yourself and retract your cruel statement, so I will be able to support your campaign and fight back against MAGA.
I think that you are learning that any MAGA or TERF support you might gain from that stance will be much less than the support you will lose from trans people and their army of family, friends, and other supporters.
Sincerely,
Anne Bloomenthal
Lawrenceville, NJ
This is really great. I know her husband and step kids from high school and I sent my own note offering a conversation with someone trans from her community
This was much nicer than my note. Kudos to you for making the necessary point with a tone of regret more than anger.
I also think this strikes an appropriately transactional posture. Let’s call this what it is. Clarify/retract your harmful statement or lose votes.
I have the advantage of being an outsider to this.
Yo Amy, pick yourself up off the ground and clarify - “there are no boys playing girls sports. Trans girls are girls..”.
Dr. Acton should be ashamed of herself for supporting the anti-transgender bills passed in Ohio. Before taking that position, did she review the medical evidence or consider the physical and psychological harm these laws can cause? I doubt it.
Like too many others, she appears to have little understanding of what it means to be transgender or what it is like to face unnecessary government restrictions on medically appropriate care. As a physician, she should know that major medical organizations have published evidence-based guidance on this issue. That is why I question her judgment on this matter and whether she has fully considered the medical evidence before supporting these policies.
I wonder if any of these anti-trans politicians, whether Dems or Repubs, have ever stopped to consider that if you are going to ban transgender kids from school sports, that will require identifying and proving who is transgender. That means forcing parents to produce birth certificates - which can be a lengthy and costly process depending on the state - and/or submitting their kids to genital exams or even genetic tests. Also, it invites scrutiny of child athletes - both cis and trans - based on physical gender conformity (or not). Also, most likely boys won’t have to undergo this scrutiny, it will just be the girls. The overall result will be to degrade girls sports, just to prevent a vanishingly small number of marginalized kids from playing. Is this really the world that parents of non-trans kids want?
For the Social Conservatives, the enforcement of gender norms on all is benefit, not a problem.
And they claim we are about enforcing gender stereotypes!
Oh wow, is this yet another example of a strong candidate sabotaging their own prospects to pander to republicans?
I'm willing to bet money that trans people make up more than 1-2% of likely voters in the democratic party and even more likely voters in the primary.
If any representative ends up reading my comment, please just know that it is very easy to argue against trans sport bans. Reject the framing and reject ignorance. Just say "Republicans cherry pick studies that compare men to women and use that to justify banning trans girls. The ONLY relevant studies are ones that compare trans women to cis women."
Thank you for drawing attention to this, we cannot allow any defections to go unanswered
Trans girls to cis girls* but still
This feels like “game over” in Ohio. I suspect that many people will stay home and not vote. Or leave that portion of the ballot blank. Not all, but many—enough to lose in a close race. (Like Erin said.)
Albatross this around her neck and don't let her take it off, since she is down with it.
“Some children are born into this world to suffer and die”
https://theantitransphobesspace.quora.com/Some-children-are-born-into-this-world-to-suffer-and-die-the-reply-of-Paul-Hruz-to-the-mother-of-a-trans-child-when-he
Better the OH gov's mansion stay red than that kind of fake blue get in.
Albatross was not supposed to be the verb there, but apparently if you use the word
h
a
n
g
in a comment it gets instabanned ?
I live in Ohio and co-hosted a home event for Dr. Acton last year. I was appalled at her response and emailed the campaign several times. This is not an endorsement of her opponent, but a sad realization that she was either looking for certain votes or has this opinion. There is an opportunity for her to clarify and correct her statement, and I hope she decides it is a necessity. Alienating those who have supported her and were willing to put in the time to get her elected is a terrible choice.
https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2026/07/16/amy-acton-adds-lgbtq-equality-language-to-campaign-platform/?fbclid=IwdGRzaATGT-NjbGNrBMZPyWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHh_dYFtR5x05B5E3w1fIyGDgmz3tguV-EubXF4TH3egQVdmfgKEhM7SRh3Ae_aem_IHs6j6cEx86agB2OuK7PaA&sfnsn=mo
It's a start. Does "every Ohioan" include transgender athletes? If so, she still needs to retract her previous statement.