The South Carolina House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee introduced a bill in early January that would ban gender-affirming care for minors, sparking outrage from activist groups across the state.
Bill H. 4624, dubbed the "Help Not Harm Bill," would prevent anyone under the age of 18 from accessing care to assist them in transitioning away from the gender assigned to them at birth, such as hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgery.
The bill would also prevent adults up to 26 from using South Carolina Medicaid Program funds to cover gender-affirming care, and it would force school officials to inform parents if their child is questioning their identity.
The bill passed in the House by a vote of 82-23 on Jan 17. Since then, it has been introduced into the Senate and has been referred to the Medical Affairs Committee, which has yet to set a date for when it will review it.
Chase Glenn, the executive director of the Alliance for Full Acceptance, said the organization will do everything in its power to stop the bill from becoming law.
"I have to believe that we're gonna stop this bill," Glenn said. "Because we believe that there will be grave consequences if this bill passes, that trans people's lives are on the line."
Lacey Layne, an elementary public school counselor in Fort Mill, testified during the committee meeting about the dangers of forced outings.
"As a school counselor, I'm aware that outing a student to their family can put them at risk for harm," Layne said. "Trans students are much more likely to be abused by their immediate family based on their gender identity. Familial rejection and abuse dramatically increase the risk of suicidality, substance abuse and depression."
Rep. John R. McCravy (R-Greenwood) reviewed the bill before the committee, saying that passing this legislation is one of the most important things the legislature can do.
“There are few things we do as legislators that are more important than protecting vulnerable children," McCravy said. "One of those important legislative protections that has come to pass is to protect minors from so-called gender transition procedures.”
Glenn said that the bill is nothing but political posturing to get votes.
“This bill is unfortunately using trans kids as political pawns," Glenn said. "These legislators that filed this bill, they know full well that this is purely a political game."
This bill is not the first anti-trans legislation to be recently proposed in South Carolina.
In March 2023, Bill S. 0623 aimed to prevent anyone more than a year old from changing the gender on their birth certificate. However, there is an exception if someone does not have a birth certificate. They can then file a petition to include "gender changes."
The Help Not Harm Bill passed despite heavy opposition from almost all who testified before the committee. Of the 48 people who testified, only one spoke in favor of the bill.
Matt Sharp, who serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization that has defended anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation across the country, defended this bill. Sharp said the Help Not Harm Bill is about protecting children from peer pressure from social media.
"This bill protects children, who deserve to experience a natural childhood, who are highly susceptible to peer pressure, social media and other negative influences," Sharp said.
Phillip Ford, of The Ford and Ford Group, speaks in front of the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee at the SC Statehouse on Jan. 17, 2024. The committee introduced a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.
Phillip Ford, the founder of The Ford and Ford group, a South Carolina advocacy group, testified to the committee and opposed the bill.
"According to the Trevor Project, 94% of LGBTQ+ youth will report having negative mental health impacts," Ford said, "They're watching, and they're listening. They're seeing their rights on trial."
Glenn said he considers this bill to be "bullying youth," and that it is “looking to solve a problem that doesn’t even really exist within our state.”
"It's hard for me to fight this bill, because there's so much misinformation and misconstruing of actual fact in the arguments these legislators make, its difficult to combat that," Glenn said.
Tate Few, a first-year USC law student, was one of 47 who opposed the bill in front of the committee. He testified for transgender children in SC who would be affected by The Help Not Harm Bill.
"This is going to cause subsequent mental health issues," Few said, "It's going to cause depression and suicide for transgender youth, and for those that are transgender up to the age of 26."
The Help Not Harm bill still needs approval from the Senate before passing. It was introduced on Jan. 18 in the Senate and referred to the Medical Affairs Committee. The committee has yet to set a date for when it will look at it.