COLUMBIA, S.C. — Transgender rights activists are turning to the Supreme Court to overturn state bans on gender-affirming care.
Those who denounce the bans want adolescents to have access to puberty blockers and hormonal treatments. Advocates of the bans include President-Elect Donald Trump, who made a national ban on gender-affirming care for minors as part of his campaign.
Though U.S. v. Skrmetti is a Tennessee law, 25 other states have similar ones that could be affected, including South Carolina.
South Carolina State Senate majority leader Shane Massey (R-Edgefield) tells WCNC Charlotte his party will await the high court's decision.
"A number of us believe that we've taken some steps to address some of those concerns that are out there," Sen. Massey said. "Doesn't mean things won't pop up at some point, but we do think that we've been aggressive in responding to some of those issues, and so that's not among our top priorities."
Conversely, the state's controversial bathroom law is almost sure to come up again, as it is tied in with the budget. It requires students to use bathrooms based on their sex assigned at birth. Otherwise, schools could lose a percentage of their public funding.
Dr. Elizabeth Mack is a pediatric critical care physician and former president of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She says, no matter what happens, even the discussion of these laws can be dangerous for kids.
"I could sort of write the manual on worst-case scenarios for children," Dr. Mack said. "We will see an uptick of suicide attempts and completions following the introduction of these bills, these gender bans on gender-affirming care, or after hearings where children hear how unvalued they are by folks."
Her claims are backed up by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ advocacy group whose work includes rallying against these bans. New data shows a 72% increase in suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth since laws like this became more common.
"When I was a child, I did not follow state house hearings, subcommittee hearings. I didn't listen to debate on the floor," Dr. Mack said. "This is a very different generation. These children are tuned in, are keyed into to what's going on around them."
She says having positive conversations and access to resources can be helpful.
"Just letting a child know that that they matter, that that we care, can sometimes be literally lifesaving," Dr. Mack said. "Conversely, the opposite behaviors can be devastating."
The South Carolina Senate will reconvene on Jan. 14, with the largest class of newcomers since World War II, including 13 new senators, nine of which are Republicans. This increases the Republican majority from the last session.
"Now that's going to have an impact," Sen. Massey said. "So far, I've been very impressed. I mean, the new crop that we have coming in, these are these are some smart people, and they're coming for the right reasons."
He says their first priority will be the Education Scholarship Trust Funds program. Though the State Supreme Court blocked the program in September, Sen. Massey hopes they can readdress it and provide private school scholarships for lower-income students.
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
If you or a loved one are facing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, there is help readily available. You can call Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat with them online. There are also resources in North Carolina available here and in South Carolina available here.
