Christian Smith
(The hill) – South Carolina lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, sending the measure to Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is expected to sign it into law.
South Carolina House Bill 4624 prohibits health care providers from administering puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries to transgender minors, although youth who receive care before August 1 are entitled to a “ period of gradual reduction”. Care must cease completely by January 31st.
The measure also prohibits public funding from being used “directly or indirectly” for gender-affirming care, which some LGBTQ advocates say will prevent transgender adults in South Carolina from using programs like Medicaid to help cover the costs of treatment. .
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes South Carolina, ruled in April that state health plans and government-funded insurance programs coverage cannot be excluded for gender-affirming healthcare.
If the measure is signed by McMaster, South Carolina will join 24 other states — more than half of which are in the South — in limiting access to gender-affirming care for minors.
In January, McMaster called the bill “a good idea,” although some changes have since been made. State senators this month added a requirement that public schools inform a student’s parents if they request the use of a different name or pronouns that are inconsistent with the sex assigned at birth.
“If they want to make these decisions later when they are adults, then that’s a different story,” McMaster told WPDE-TV in Florence in January, referring to gender-affirming medical care, “but we should prevent our young make irreversible mistakes.” .”
Gender-affirming health care for transgender adults and minors is considered safe and medically necessary by all major medical organizations, although not all transgender people choose to medically transition or access care. Groups such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have denounced state and federal laws that penalize applicants for or providers of transition-related care.
“South Carolina lawmakers abused their power today, substituting their judgment for that of parents, medical professionals, mental health professionals and other experts,” said Cathryn Oakley, senior director of legal policy at the Human Rights Campaign, a national group LGBTQ advocacy. in a statement Thursday. “This is a serious violation of the freedoms of South Carolinians.”
The Campaign for Southern Equality, another LGBTQ rights organization, said Thursday it would expand to South Carolina a program for transgender youth whose access to gender-affirming care is cut off by government policies. The program, Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project, provides families with information and financial assistance to ensure continuity of care.
“We are sending so much love, support and solidarity and want trans people in SC to know that you are loved, valued and seen – and that there is an entire community ready to fight against these oppressive laws,” the group said. said Thursday in the social platform X.
