SC governor again signs bill banning gender-affirming care, but this time it's ceremonial

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster held a ceremonial signing in Spartanburg Wednesday for two bills focused on children.

House Bill 4624, called the Help not Harm Bill, bans certain medical care for transgender youth, while House Bill 3424, or the Child Online Safety Act, restricts access to pornographic websites for minors by requiring the websites to have age verification. 

Legislators said the bills were to ensure children were protected in South Carolina. 

“We have to see that we take care of our children, but we can’t be there all the time. So somebody has to look out for them,” McMaster said during the ceremony held at First Baptist North Church. 

The Child Online Safety Act was inspired by a similar law passed in Louisiana, according to the lead sponsor, Rep. Travis Moore (R-Spartanburg.) The new bill ensures websites containing pornography have age verifications on its websites, and if they fail to do so, will result in “liability for nominal damages, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court.” 

“I agree it’s a parent’s job and primary responsibility to raise and protect their children,” Moore said. “But when you deal with issues like this, evils that are so pervasive, the parents are outnumbered and that’s where it’s appropriate for the state to step in and produce policy to help parents protect their children.”  

The bills became effective immediately after McMaster signed them on May 21.  House Bill 4624 bill prohibits any form of puberty-blocking or hormone therapy. It also makes it a felony to perform gender reassignment surgery on those under 18. 

“We don’t know how many surgeries have taken place in South Carolina related to this issue, but one is too many,” said state Rep. David Hiott (R-Pickens), lead sponsor of the bill. 

More:South Carolina Gov. McMaster signs bill outlawing transgender care for trans youth

Under the new bill, minors can still be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy to treat certain conditions such as precocious puberty or endometriosis. The law also bans the South Carolina Medicaid program from providing coverage for gender reassignment surgery or hormone therapy to adults and minors. 

The bill passed on the last day of the legislative session after the House agreed to accept the Senate’s changes to the law. The Senate's major change was an amendment requiring public school administrators to report students to parents if they were identifying as a different gender from their assigned sex or using different pronouns. 

“We had all these people screaming at us, we hated kids, we hate children, that we don’t care about the emotions of kids” Sen. Josh Kimbrell (R-Spartanburg) said. “But why we’re here is because we love kids. We care about them, we care about protecting them.” 

Opponents said the bill would be a forced outing and could be dangerous for children not yet ready to tell their parents if they were transgender. Still, legislators pushed for it, saying that parents had the right to know if their children were identifying as a gender different from their sex. 

While some legislators said the bill was designed to protect children, others say otherwise.

South Carolina State Rep. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers (D-Spartanburg) and local advocates, including Jodi Snyder, program director of Uplift Outreach Center, and Amberlyn Boiter, president of PFLAG Spartanburg, held a press conference following McMaster's ceremonial signing.

"This bill that was signed today is an attack on families, it's an attack on our children," Henderson-Myers said.

Snyder, who works with LGBTQ youth through the outreach center, said the organization has seen an "uptick in suicidal ideations and much more need for mental health services" since the bill was introduced this year. The outreach center provides mental health support and community for LGBTQ youth.

Looking ahead at what's next for transgender youth, Boiter said there are organizations, such as the Campaign for Southern Equality and Planned Parenthood, working not only to help provide transgender youth with out-of-state medical care but are also considering challenging the legislation in court. Challenges to similar laws in southern states such as Tennessee and Kentucky are taking place.

"We will never stop working to make sure that you continue to be supported and cared for. We will not rest until you and your families are made whole again. And we can call South Carolina a safe and free place to live," Boiter said, speaking directly to the state's transgender youth.

Savannah Moss covers politics for the Greenville News. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on X @Savmoss.