SC Senate panel OKs bill to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports, copying House
A South Carolina Senate panel on Tuesday advanced a bill that would ban transgender athletes from high and middle school and college women’s sports teams days after a nearly identical proposal was debated by a House committee.
The Senate Education Subcommittee voted 3-1 Tuesday to send the bill to full committee, with Sen. John Scott, D-Richland, voting against the bill.
The vote marks the first time a bill to ban transgender athletes has gained traction in the Senate. In the House, similar bills failed twice last year, but a third bill, which also includes a ban at the collegiate level, is currently being heard in the Education and Public Works Committee.
Last year, 23 states considered measures to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports, arguing that transgender women have a natural athletic advantage over their cisgendered counterparts. Nine states enacted legislation last year, and governors in three more vetoed it. Two more states have passed bans since.
In South Carolina, it’s rare for transgender women and girls to try and participate in high school women’s sports. Opponents of the bill argue that it’s a solution in search of a problem.
While the South Carolina High School League has an application process for schools to allow a transgender student to participate in women’s sports, only four students have gone through the process since it was instituted in 2016, league officials testified last year.
Two students, both transgender girls, have been granted waivers.
On Tuesday, pediatricians urged senators to vote against the bill because of the harm it could cause to already vulnerable transgender youth.
Transgender youth already suffer from bullying and isolation, and legislation could force transgender kids to come out before they’re ready, which is an “invasion of privacy,” said Dr. Elizabeth Mack, spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“Schools know their students best. These decision should be left to the school leaders,” Mack testified. “The current system works.”
Dr. Martha Edwards, who is on the executive board of the American Academy of Pediatrics, warned that taking opportunities away from trans girls could put them at serious risk for depression or suicide.
“Your decision here today will seriously impact the mental health of children who just happen to be trans,” Edwards said.
Proponents of the bill urged lawmakers to copy the House and add a ban of transgender women in collegiate sports.
“Female athletes in college deserve to be protected,” said Dr. Mahri Irvine, the executive director of the Women’s Liberation Front.
Bill sponsor Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, agreed, and the panel voted unanimously to add college sports.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 12:23 PM with the headline "SC Senate panel OKs bill to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports, copying House."
