The legislature will adjourn for the year on May 11, 2023, which indicates that the chances of prohibiting gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth in South Carolina are low this year.īut parents of transgender teens see a tidal wave on the horizon.

Two Senate bills that would ban gender-affirming healthcare for anyone younger than 18 and prohibit transgender residents from being able to change the gender on their birth certificates are currently in committee. One bill that mirrors provisions from Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay'' law, banning any instruction or expression of gender diversity in the classroom, is on track to become law in South Carolina. This year, state lawmakers filed 18 bills targeting drag shows, healthcare, birth certificates, adoption rights and inclusive educational tools. Where does South Carolina stand with anti-transgender legislation? 'There might come a point when none of us have a choice,' Will, a 51-year-old father from Spartanburg County joined in. 'But if my children are taken away from me-' she said trailing off. 'We don't want to leave,' one mother, 42, from Greenville County said. And if it came to it, they may have to consider packing up and leaving. Some have made an inventory of their finances. Some parents have scouted out-of-state medical providers for gender-affirming care.

Yet, looming Statehouse bills that might potentially strip them of critical healthcare have parents making contingency plans.

There are an estimated 3,700 transgender youth between the age of 13 and 17 in South Carolina, according to new estimates from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. They just want to be regular parents who worry about school supplies, their children’s daily schedule and what to make for dinner.īut lately, with the growing anti-transgender fervor around the country, parents of transgender youth in South Carolina said they were rallying their communities to do whatever it takes to protect their children. Watch Video: Amberlyn Boiter on bills that will affect transgender at SC Statehouse

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