The legislation passed earlier this month by a vote of 67-26 in the state House and 28-8 in the Senate. Following the governor’s signature on May 21, the bill (H 4624) takes effect immediately and bans doctors from providing sex change treatments to patients under 18, including hormones, puberty blockers, and gender transition surgeries. Physicians who violate the new law could face penalties of up to 20 years in prison. “I signed the Help Not Harm bill into law, which protects our state’s children from irreversible gender transition procedures and bans public funds from being used for them,” McMaster said in a statement posted on X. “I look forward to joining legislators and supporters at a ceremonial bill signing in the Upstate next week.”Gov. Henry McMaster has signed into law a ban on transgender medical procedures for minors, making South Carolina the 25th state to enact such prohibitions.
I signed the Help Not Harm bill into law, which protects our state’s children from irreversible gender transition procedures and bans public funds from being used for them. I look forward to joining legislators and supporters at a ceremonial bill signing in the Upstate next week. pic.twitter.com/7RTDYGGGDU Additionally, under the new law, if a student changes or questions their gender identity, school staff are prohibited from withholding that information from the student’s parents or legal guardian. Earlier this year, McMaster said he backed the bill to keep young residents of his state safe. “If they want to make those decisions later when they’re adults, then that’s a different story, but we must protect our young people from irreversible decisions," he said. South Carolina lawmakers attempted to pass similar legislation in 2021 and 2022, but were unable to find the votes in the state House. The law is already facing harsh criticism from advocates who back transgender support for minors. “We stand in grief and solidarity with LGBTQ South Carolinians, who are increasingly under attack by our own government,” Jace Woodrum, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina, said in a statement. “We can put to rest the notion that the governor cares about limited government and personal freedom,” Woodrum, the first transgender Executive Director of the ACLU, added. “With the stroke of a pen, he has chosen to insert the will of politicians into healthcare decisions, trample on the liberties of trans South Carolinians, and deny the rights of the parents of trans minors." LGBTQ activist organization Human Rights Campaign calls the new law a violation of South Carolinians’ freedoms. The bill “threatens to plunge the transgender community into a deeper health care crisis, leaving Virginia as the only Southern state without a ban, worsening nightmarish travel times and stripping transgender youth throughout the South of access to care,” the group said in a statement.
— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) May 21, 2024
