South Carolina Freedom Caucus Forces Pediatric Trans Clinic to Shut Down

A pediatric transgender clinic has ceased operations after the South Carolina Freedom Caucus (SCFC) submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and proposed legislation combatting sex-change surgeries.

The Medical University of South Carolina pediatric transgender clinic notified the SCFC that they will no longer be engaging in “pediatric/adolescent transgender hormonal care.”

“Officials from MUSC have informed us that they will no longer be providing morally and ethically repugnant ‘gender affirming care’ that results in irreparable harm for minors,” SCFC Chairman Adam Morgan (R-Greenville) stated in a press release.

He also remarked that “This is a huge win for the Freedom Caucus. But more importantly, it is a huge win for childhood innocence.”

The SCFC submitted FOIA requests for medical records after the American Accountability Foundation tweeted an excerpt from a research report explaining that children as young as 4 years old had visited the center for “treatment.” The document also noted that 62 percent of children who visited the clinic had received puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

The SCFC also announced their plans to pursue legislation that would ban sex change surgeries for those under the age of 18 in a press conference alongside Congressman Ralph Norman, doctors, nurses, and parents. 

 

MUSC responded to the SCFC’s record request while also adding that the university “no longer provides pediatric/adolescent transgender hormonal care.”

Family medicine physician Don Millus voiced support for the SCFC, saying “I applaud the Freedom Caucus for leading the call to stop medical and surgical transgender interventions in pediatric patients in South Carolina that lead to irreversible changes for our children.”

Meanwhile, MUSC declined to provide the entirety of a study called “Growth of the gender dysphoric transgender population in the MUSC Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic.” Findings suggest that those within MUSC have taken steps to dodge public records requests. 

In one email exchange, a redacted sender encourages redacted recipients to contact Chase Glenn, MUSC’s Director of LGBTQ+ Health Service, via his personal email for more “privacy.”

SCFC Secretary Josiah Magnuson (R-Spartanburg) noted that while the caucus was “successful in making MUSC stop their medical sexualization of our children,” they’ve also found that “the university has been infiltrated by extremists who encourage the circumvention of FOIA laws.”

He added “the battle against the woke Left in South Carolina is just getting started,” before noting “​​State institutions like MUSC can’t be allowed to keep hiding their taxpayer-funded activities from the public. It’s time our colleagues get on board with the Freedom Caucus in our efforts to clean up these rogue institutions and agencies.”

Meanwhile, SCFC member Stewart Jones (R-Laurens) prefiled the “Vulnerable Child Protection Act.” The act would make it illegal to provide puberty blockers or perform sex change operations on those under the age of 18 in South Carolina.

Jones spoke to the necessity of the legislation, remarking, “We have a moral, ethical, and legislative duty to protect children from leftist doctors and pharmaceutical companies who use our kids as guinea pigs for profit and to promote their radical agenda.”

Should the bill pass, South Carolina will become the latest on a growing list of states that have taken legislative action to defend children from medical interventions that seek to change their sex.

The Florida Board of Medicine and the state Board of Osteopathic Medicine recently voted to ban puberty blockers and sex change operations for minors. Meanwhile, the House and Senate Majority Leaders in Tennessee have introduced a bill that would also ban puberty blockers and sex change operations for minors.

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com