South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Tuesday announced via social media that he had signed a bill that bans transgender treatments and surgeries for minors – procedures that 100% of the time fail to change a person's gender. Specifically, H. 4624 protects children under the age of 18 from the administration of life-altering sex-related surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones – and affirms the biological reality of sex as male and female.
Attorney Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom tells AFN the legislature's actions make sense based on available science.
"… Europe [has] been doing many of these procedures for years, and they're seeing evidence showing that it's not effective," Sharp explains. "Rather, what they are prioritizing is the counseling, the mental health services for children dealing with this issue."
It is a mental health problem called "gender dysphoria" – and surgery has never resolved a mental problem.
Several countries, including Sweden, England, and Finland, have changed course. The ADF spokesman argues that statistics showing higher rates of suicide among individuals in Sweden who had gone through the surgery and hormone treatment prove those countries – and U.S. states – are doing the right thing by banning such treatments for minors.
"[Our kids] deserve better," he adds. "They deserve the counseling and mental health services that can be so helpful to them as they're navigating these difficult issues."
South Carolina becomes the 25th U.S. state to look at why European countries are backing off and being convinced to ban it to protect children. According to The Associated Press, pro-LGBTQ+ groups are considering a lawsuit against the state.
Also under H. 4624, school principals or vice principals would have to notify parents or guardians if a child wanted to use a name other than their legal one, or a nickname or pronouns that did not match their biological sex.
