By Jack O’Toole
The Statehouse Report
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) will stop providing gender transition surgeries and hormones for all patients, including adults, due to a new law signed in May.
According to the law, “public funds may not be used directly or indirectly for gender transition procedures.”
MUSC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Patrick J. Cawley confirmed the news in a Friday statement to Statehouse Report. “MUSC Health funds are public funds,” he said. “We are prohibited from providing gender transition services to all patients.”
At the time the proposed law was being debated, supporters touted it as a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, not adults.
“I think this is a good idea to keep our young people safe and healthy,” Gov. Henry McMaster told reporters in January. “If they want to make those decisions later when they’re adults, then that’s a different story, but we must protect our young people from irreversible decisions.”
Chase Glenn, executive director of the Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA), told Statehouse Report that MUSC’s broad interpretation of the law is “unfortunate” but not completely unexpected.
“We’re extremely disappointed MUSC has landed on this interpretation of the law,” Glenn said. “But by putting this vague language in the bill, legislators have made providers fearful that they might be committing a felony crime by providing this care.”
Glenn, a transgender man who relies on MUSC for medical care, said he’s just one of about 300 patients who will be impacted by MUSC’s decision. He recommended that anyone in need of a new provider visit the Campaign for Southern Equality website for assistance.
“AFFA has partnered with the Campaign for Southern Equality to provide this service,” Glenn said. “They have a special fund and a patient navigator to help people find a new provider.”
For its part, MUSC stressed that it will continue to serve all South Carolinians to the extent allowed by law.
“MUSC strives to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina and beyond,” Cawley said. “While MUSC Health can no longer offer this specific service, we provide a vast array of other complex care, primary and behavioral health services that are accessible to all patients, including transgender patients.”
