Families and trans adults sue South Carolina to block state ban on gender-affirming care

Transgender people in South Carolina and their families filed a lawsuit Thursday to block restrictions on gender-affirming health care in their state.

The lawsuit comes just over three months after Gov. Henry McMaster signed House Bill 4624, which includes a ban on gender transition procedures for anyone under the age of 18 and prohibits the use of public funds for gender transition procedures — including puberty blockers, therapy hormonal. and surgical interventions.

The law also prohibits coverage of sex-affirmation care under South Carolina’s Medicaid program.

Plaintiff Sterling Misanin, a 32-year-old transgender man, said his scheduled surgery was abruptly canceled at the Medical University of South Carolina after the law passed.

“MUSC’s actions have caused me significant harm, and I am devastated that my state interfered with my access to life-saving medical care,” Mișanin said. “I’m an adult and I know myself better than my state knows me, and I can’t be silent about the very real harm this law is doing to transgender people like me.”

McMaster’s office told ABC News he was “proud” to sign the law and vowed to “continue to support our state’s efforts to fight those who want to force harmful gender transition procedures on our children.”

In a statement on the law at the time, state Rep. Davey Hiott said, “We don’t know how many surgeries have occurred in South Carolina related to this issue, but one is too many. It’s time to protect our children.”

The law is set to take effect on January 31, 2025. The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against the law’s gender-affirming care provisions, arguing that they violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The ACLU claims it discriminates against transgender people because, while it bans the use of puberty blockers for trans youth, it does not ban prescribing the same drugs to treat central precocious puberty. The law also restricts hormone therapy for youth and some trans adults, but allows the same treatment for non-trans patients, the ACLU says.

The plaintiffs also argue that the law violates parents’ due process rights and the anti-discrimination clauses of the Medicaid Act, the Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.

“A law that takes health care away from people, that removes the ability of parents to make medical decisions for their children, that criminalizes doctors who uphold established standards of care is not only mean and harmful — it’s unconstitutional,” said Jace Woodrum, executive director of the ACLU of South Carolina, in a statement.

The plaintiffs include two parents and their children who were allegedly denied care, as well as three adults whose care was terminated.

The legal challenges come as the Supreme Court prepares to take up a constitutional challenge to state bans on the care of gender-affirming minors.

ABC News has reached out to the defendants — including the state Attorney General’s Office, the state Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), the state Public Employee Benefits Authority and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) — for comment.

The state Attorney General’s Office told ABC News that it does not comment on pending litigation, “but we can say that we will vigorously defend the laws of the state.”

MUSC and SCDHHS told ABC News they do not comment on matters of active litigation.