TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, TO ENACT THE "YOUTH GENDER REASSIGNMENT PREVENTION ACT" BY ADDING CHAPTER 139 TO TITLE 44 SO AS TO PROHIBIT A PERSON WHO IS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE FROM UNDERGOING GENDER REASSIGNMENT MEDICAL TREATMENT, TO PROVIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE FOR VIOLATION OF THE ACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. This act may be known and cited as the "Youth Gender Reassignment Prevention Act".
SECTION 2. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 44-139-10. (A) A person under the age of eighteen years is prohibited from undergoing gender reassignment medical treatment in the State of South Carolina.
(B) A health care professional who intentionally performs gender reassignment medical treatment on a person who is under the age of eighteen years is subject to professional discipline by the State Board of Medical Examiners or the applicable health care professional licensing board, up to and including suspension or revocation of any license or certification required to practice.
Section 44-139-20. For purposes of this chapter:
'Gender reassignment medical treatment' means any health care to facilitate the transitioning of a patient's assigned gender identity to the gender identity experienced and defined by the patient. The term may include, but is not limited to:
(1) interventions to suppress the development of endogenous secondary sex characteristics;
(2) interventions to align the patient's appearance or physical body with the patient's gender identity; and
(3) interventions to alleviate symptoms of clinically significant distress resulting from gender dysphoria, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition.
The term does not include behavioral health care services, such as mental health counseling."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.