House Bill 4624 was signed into law by SC Governor Henry McMaster on May 21. Credit: Facebook
In opposition of a recent ruling that bans gender-affirming healthcare in South Carolina, transgender residents are suing the state to stop the new law.
Signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster on May 21, House Bill 4624 prevents doctors from providing care via gender transition procedures, such as puberty delaying medications, hormone therapy and other procedures or treatment for transgender youth as well as transgender adults.
Within the lawsuit, Misanin v. Wilson, filed on August 29 with the U.S. District Court for South Carolina, are three provisions that plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction with;
1. A prohibition on medical professionals providing gender-affirming care to South Carolinians under age 18;
2. A prohibition on the use of public funds for gender-affirming care for South Carolinians regardless of age; and
3. A prohibition on gender-affirming care coverage under South Carolina’s Medicaid program
One of the main arguments within the lawsuit lies with the specificity in the new law; while many of the same treatments would still be legal in the state, when used for cisgender individuals, for example in the case of treating precocious puberty and various cancers, or allowing for breast augmentation or reconstruction, those types of treatments would be prohibited if used as aid for gender dysphoria by transgender patients, as per paragraph seven of the lawsuit’s introduction.
While many of the plaintiffs have chosen to remain anonymous, Sterling Misanin, a 32-year-old trans man and formally a patient at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) before May’s law went into effect, chose to speak out about how the bill is affecting his life in an ABC 4 News interview.
“I feel so lucky and fortunate to be supported and affirmed by so many wonderful people who accept me for who I am. My family continues to be extremely supportive of me living as the man that I am. In Charleston, I have a wonderful community who make me feel safe and seen.”
“But, the actions by MUSC have caused me significant harm, and I am devastated that my state has interfered in my access to life-saving health care.
I am an adult, and I know myself better than my state does, and I cannot stay silent about the very real harms that this law inflicts on transgender people like me.” HB 4624 was only one of 23 other bills that, introduced by South Carolina Lawmakers, targeted transgender people.
Similar bills have been passed in the region, although the Fourth Circuit Of Appeals, which South Carolina is a part of, has started to amend many that fall under legal scrutiny, such as North Carolina’s exclusion of coverage for gender-affirming care within the state employees’ insurance plan, or West Virginia’s exclusion of gender-affirming care for low-income transgender people enrolled in Medicaid.