Republican lawmakers in South Carolina are introducing a bill to ban irreversible, experimental transgender care for people under 18.
This month, the state’s Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee voted to advance the bill, HB 4643, which would prohibit doctors from performing gender reassignment surgery, prescribing puberty-blocking drugs and supervising hormone therapy for people under 18. The bill, if enacted, would prevent Medicaid from covering this type of care for people under 26 and would prevent schools from withholding information about a student’s “gender identity” from parents (via Related press):
State Republican Jordan Pace said that as a teacher, he believes he would be derelict in his duties if he ever withheld such information from his parents.
“Parents need to know what’s going on in their child’s life,” said Republican state Rep. Thomas Beach.
Earlier this year, Louisiana joined more than 20 other states with laws banning experimental, irreversible, so-called “gender-affirming” care for minors. This includes puberty blocking drugs, hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. This ban came into force on January 1, 2024 and covered Townhall.
According to PBS, the “Republican-dominated” state Legislature overrode a veto of the legislation issued by outgoing Democratic Gov. John Bela Edwards. The state Legislature reportedly held a one-day veto session, the third since 1974, and was the second session in which lawmakers managed to defeat the governor.
“I think that in this case, following the passage of this bill by other Southern states, lawmakers are putting politics ahead of people without considering the practical implications of the bill,” Edwards said in his veto message. “I strongly believe that the legislator has exceeded its powers and is interfering in key health care decisions that should only be made by parents in consultation with their children and their doctors and psychologists.”
In Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill on December 29 that would have protected minors from this type of harmful care. Unsurprisingly, DeWine received massive backlash. A few days later, DeWine issued an executive order banning surgery for transgender children. This week, the Ohio House of Representatives overrode DeWine’s veto of the bill. The state Senate will vote later this month.
