South Carolina § 44-42-310 - Definitions.

§ 44-42-310. Definitions.

For the purposes of this article:

(1) "Sex" means the biological indication of male and female in the context of reproductive potential or capacity, such as sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, without regard to an individual's psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender.

(2) "Cross-sex hormones" means testosterone, estrogen, or progesterone given to an individual in an amount greater than would normally be produced endogenously in a healthy individual of that individual's age and sex.

(3) "Gender" means the psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural aspects of being male or female.

(4) "Gender reassignment surgery" means any surgical service that seeks to surgically alter or remove healthy physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for the individual's sex, in order to instill or create physiological or anatomical characteristics that resemble a sex different from the individual's sex including, without limitation, genital or nongenital gender reassignment surgery performed for the purpose of assisting an individual with a gender transition.

(5) "Gender transition" means the process in which a person goes from identifying with and living as a gender that corresponds to his or her sex to identifying with and living as a gender different from his or her sex, and may involve social, legal, or physical changes.

(6) "Gender transition procedures" means puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or genital or nongenital gender reassignment surgery, provided or performed for the purpose of assisting an individual with a physical gender transition.

(7) "Genital gender reassignment surgery" means a surgical procedure performed for the purpose of assisting an individual with a physical gender transition including, without limitation, penectomy, orchiectomy, vaginoplasty, clitoroplasty, vulvoplasty, hysterectomy, ophorectomy, reconstruction of the urethra, metoidioplasty or phalloplasty, vaginectomy, scrotoplasty, or implantation of erection and/or testicular prostheses.

(8) "Nongenital gender reassignment surgery" means surgical procedures performed for the purpose of assisting an individual with a physical gender transition including, without limitation, augmentation mammoplasty, facial feminization surgery, liposuction, lipofilling, voice surgery, thyroid cartilage reduction, gluteal augmentation, hair reconstruction, subcutaneous mastectomy, pectoral implants, or various aesthetic procedures.

(9) "Puberty-blocking drugs" means gonadotropin releasing hormone analogues or other synthetic drugs used to stop luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone secretion, synthetic antiandrogen drugs used to block the androgen receptor, or any drug to suppress or delay normal pubertal development in children.

HISTORY: 2024 Act No. 203 (H.4624), SECTION 1, eff May 21, 2024.