A ban on gender-affirming care for kids and teens in South Carolina is moving quickly at the State House.

Just hours after lawmakers gaveled in to begin their 2024 legislative session Tuesday, the newly-filed bill, H.4624, drew hours of criticism from parents and pediatricians during an afternoon hearing.

[…]But supporters, including top Republicans in the state’s House of Representatives, claimed they are pushing this legislation to protect kids.

“When God created us, he created us male and female, and that’s it. There is no other choice, and all these other folks that want to change that from birth or change that through their life, we need to stand up against that,” House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R – Pickens and the bill’s lead sponsor, said during a news conference Tuesday.

This bill would ban minors in South Carolina from undergoing “gender-transition procedures,” including surgeries, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers.

It would also prohibit state dollars from paying for these procedures and would ban Medicaid from covering them for anyone younger than 27 in South Carolina.