South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed a bill banning gender-affirming treatments and care procedures for those under 18 in his state on Tuesday.
“I signed the Help Not Harm bill, which protects our state’s children from irreversible gender transition procedures and prohibits public funds from being used for them,” McMaster he said in a post on the social platform X Tuesday. “I look forward to joining legislators and supporters in the ceremonial signing of a bill in Upstate next week.”
The bill, House Bill 4264, States that a “physician, mental health professional, or other health care professional shall not knowingly provide gender transition procedures to a person under eighteen years of age” and that those who do so “shall, upon adverse decision of the licensing board appropriate, be considered unprofessional conduct and will be subject to discipline by the licensing entity with jurisdiction over the physician, mental health professional or other health care professional.”
“Across the state, from the Lowcountry to the Upstate, South Carolinians are mourning the passage of H.4624, which will make it immensely more difficult for trans youth and many adults to access life-saving health care , that they need and deserve,” Chase Glenn, leader of the LGBTQ advocacy group SC United for Justice & Equality, said in a press release Tuesday.
“But let me be clear: this loss does not collapse a movement,” Glenn continued. “Our movement to support trans people in South Carolina is louder and stronger than ever. We marched on the State House, told our stories, and made sure our legislators heard us. Now, we will do everything we can to support our community during this crisis.”
Jace Woodrum, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina, said in a press release Tuesday that the group is “in mourning and in solidarity with LGBTQ South Carolinians who are increasingly increasingly under attack from our own government.”
“We can dispel the notion that the governor cares about limited government and personal liberty,” Woodrum said. declaration continued. “With the stroke of a pen, he chose to insert the will of politicians into healthcare decisions, trample the freedoms of trans South Carolinians, and deny the rights of parents to trans minors.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
