Parental Rights Act moves forward after near-unanimous vote in SC House

FILE – Police officers are the only people seen at the South Carolina Statehouse on Jan. 20, 2021, in Columbia, S.C. The Republican-dominated South Carolina House is expected to debate a bill restricting medical care for transgender minors on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)

 (WCIV) — The South Carolina House advanced a bill Wednesday that, if signed into law, would raise the age at which children can make their own medical decisions from 16 to 18.

H. 4757, known as The Parental Rights Act, cleared the chamber with a 116-1 vote, with state Rep. Rob Harris, a Republican from Spartanburg County, being the only nay vote. Every present and voting Democrat supported the measure after amendments were made.

The legislation – along with changing the age for medical consent – gives parents the ability to view lesson plans and evaluations from guidance counselors. Guardians would also need to sign off on lessons involving gender roles, stereotypes, gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender expression. Additionally, parents or legal guardians would also have the ability to pull kids from extracurricular activities they disagree with.

“This bill draws a clear line,” said state Rep. Sylleste Davis, a Moncks Corner Republican, as reported by the South Carolina Daily Gazette. “Parents, not government agencies, have the primary authority to direct their children’s upbringing, education and health care.”

South Carolina’s proposed legislation comes in the shadow of the United States Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, where the high court said parents have a right to opt their children out of public school lessons that conflict with their religious beliefs, specifically allowing parents to pull children from curriculum featuring LGBTQ-plus themes.

“This is a clear extension of that ruling,” said state Rep. Jordan Pace, a Berkeley County Republican and chairman of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus.

State law already requires guidance counselors and other school employees to notify parents if a student requests to identify as a different gender or to use different pronouns.

During debate on the measure, Democrats introduced several amendments. One approved amendment, proposed by state Rep. Courtney Waters, revised the bill to allow parents to grant blanket consent for doctors to make medical decisions for their children.

Other changes offered protection to teachers from being sued continuously. Parents would first need to prove that the educator knowingly acted maliciously.

Though the bill cleared the House, it isn’t guaranteed to be picked up by the state Senate, which is debating its own parental rights bill.

At least 25 states have enshrined “parental bills of rights” into their laws, according to the ultraconservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, which was responsible for Project 2025. At least three states have introduced additional laws surrounding parental rights.