South-Carolina
South Carolina House OKs ban on gender-affirming care for minors
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A proposed ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors was overwhelmingly approved Wednesday by the Republican-led South Carolina House.
The measure would bar health professionals from performing gender-transition surgeries, prescribing puberty-blocking drugs and overseeing hormone treatments for patients under 18 years old.
The 82-23 vote came as Republican-led statehouses nationwide are restricting transgender people’s access to health care, sports leagues and bathrooms that align with their identity.
The South Carolina measure will soon head to the state Senate.
Transgender South Carolina residents, their families and doctors have strenuously opposed the bill, saying gender-affirming treatment can be lifesaving.
They emphasize that people younger than 18 do not receive gender-transition surgeries in South Carolina and hormone treatments begin only after extensive consultation with health professionals.
Still, Republican lawmakers said they needed to protect children from medical practices that they consider experimental and irreversible.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday debated proposed restrictions on health care for transgender youth, while a Missouri legislative committee discussed a slew of like-minded proposals.
The measures’ consideration in the two GOP strongholds highlights the continued interest among conservative lawmakers in targeting issues that impact LGBTQ residents after a wave of high-profile bills last year.
South Carolina is one of the few Southern states without a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Its Republican-dominated House began debating a bill Wednesday that would bar health professionals from performing gender-transition surgeries, prescribing puberty-blocking drugs and overseeing hormone treatments for patients under 18 years old. People under 26 years old could not use Medicaid to cover the costs for such care and school employees could not withhold knowledge of a student’s transgender identity from their legal guardians.
Doctors and parents told lawmakers last week that such treatment can be lifesaving, allowing young transgender people to live more fulfilling lives. Indeed, research has shown that transgender youth and adults are prone to stress, depression and suicidal behavior when forced to live as the sex they were assigned at birth.
Yet Republican South Carolina Rep. John McCravy, a co-sponsor of the bill, claimed Wednesday that “unpublished evidence” shows puberty blockers increase self-harm. He described transgender children as “mentally disturbed youth” in need of protection from “mutilation” — a narrative that expert panels in the nation’s major medical associations have said is false.
Democrats tried to cut the provision that blocks Medicaid coverage for children and young adults seeking gender-confirming treatments. Democratic South Carolina Rep. Marvin Pendarvis said Republicans should stick to their stated goal of protecting children and should not also limit adults’ health care access.
“Is it really about protecting minors or is it about attacking a group of people that you don’t agree with their lifestyle?” Pendarvis asked.
Republican South Carolina Rep. RJ May, the vice chair of the state’s ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, compared public funding for any transition surgeries — regardless of the patient’s age — to public funding for “lifestyles” like drug addiction.
Some other Republicans failed to add more definite penalties. The bill allows medical licensing boards to discipline health care professionals who provide the banned treatments. It does not expose medical providers to criminal liability as in Florida or civil liability as in Georgia.
In Missouri, a House committee on Wednesday was debating a slate of anti-transgender legislation, even though Republican legislative leaders have said LGBTQ -related bills are not a top priority this session. Lawmakers last year passed a partial ban on gender-affirming health care treatments for minors and limits on what sports teams student athletes can join based on the sex they were assigned at birth.
New measures would regulate public school bathroom use and define male and female in state laws as being based on a person’s sex assigned at birth.
Another proposal would apply the ban on gender-affirming health care to all minors and repeal its 2027 expiration date.
Republican Missouri Rep. Brad Hudson, who proposed last year’s ban, said there should have never been a “sunset” in the first place.
Democratic Missouri Rep. David Tyson Smith said legislation aimed at transgender people is a campaign tactic to attract Republican votes. Smith said it’s “time we turn the page.”
“For this to dominate the airwaves over and over again, it’s too much,” Smith said.
The bills are among dozens this year in red states designed to restrict medical care for transgender youth — and in some cases, adults — or to govern the pronouns students can use at school, which sports teams they can play on, and the bathrooms they can use, along with efforts to restrict drag performances and some books and school curriculums.
At least 22 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and many of those states face lawsuits. Courts have issued mixed rulings. Enforcement is blocked in three states and enforcement is allowed in seven others. The Ohio Senate later this month is expected to override Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of that state’s ban.
Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose the bans and have endorsed such care, saying it’s safe when administered properly.
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Ballentine contributed from Jefferson City, Mo. Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
The University of South Carolina’s 2026 football schedule has been unveiled, it was announced tonight on the SEC Network.
The Gamecocks’ 2026 schedule features nine regular-season SEC contests, with five games at home and four on the road. The schedule also includes non-conference games versus Kent State and Towson as part of the seven-game home slate, and a non-conference road contest at Clemson.
After opening the season with three-consecutive home games for the first time since 2014, the Gamecocks will alternate home and road contests throughout the remainder of the schedule. The 2026 schedule features just one open date which will come on week 7 (October 17).
As announced on Monday, the Gamecocks will open the season on Sept. 5 by hosting Kent State. Carolina drubbed the Golden Flashes in its only previous encounter, a 77-14 decision in 1995. Kent State finished the 2025 season with a 5-7 mark overall and a 4-4 record in the Mid-American Conference.
Week 2 will see the Towson Tigers make their first trip to Williams-Brice Stadium. The Tigers compete in the FCS Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and posted a 6-6 record in 2025 under head coach Pete Shinnick.
The Gamecocks begin their nine-game SEC gauntlet on Sept. 19 when Mississippi State visits Columbia. Carolina has won eight of the last nine meeting with the Bulldogs including a 37-30 win in 2023, the only contest played between the two schools since 2016. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series by a 10-7 margin. Mississippi State is one of seven teams on Carolina’s 2026 schedule that is playing in a post-season game this year.
The Gamecocks first road trip of the 2026 season takes them to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 26 for a date with the Alabama Crimson Tide, one of four teams on South Carolina’s 2026 slate that will appear in this year’s College Football Playoffs. It will mark the third-consecutive season that Carolina and Alabama have squared off, with the Tide narrowly winning the previous two – 27-25 in Tuscaloosa in 2024 and 29-22 in Columbia in 2025.
The Gamecocks and Kentucky Wildcats will meet in Columbia on Oct. 3. The teams met in Williams-Brice Stadium on Sept. 27, 2025, with Carolina prevailing by a 35-13 score, its fourth-straight win in a series they lead 22-14-1.
Carolina wraps up the first half of the season at Florida on Oct. 10. The Gamecocks and Gators met every year on the gridiron from 1992-2023 but have not played in either of the last two seasons. Florida holds a commanding 31-10-3 lead in the all-time series including a 17-2 advantage when playing in The Swamp. Carolina’s last win in Gainesville came in overtime the 2014 season.
After an open date on Oct. 17, the Gamecocks will return to action at home on Oct. 24 against the Tennessee Volunteers. Like Florida, the Gamecocks and Vols met every year from 1992-2023 but have not played in either of the last two seasons. Tennessee leads the all-time series by a 29-13-2 count including a narrow 10-8-2 advantage when the game has been played in Columbia.
The Gamecocks will spend Halloween in Norman playing the Oklahoma Sooners. The teams had never met prior to OU joining the SEC but have played each of the past two seasons with each team winning on the others’ home field.
The Bonham Trophy will be at stake on Nov. 7 when Texas A&M visits Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks and Aggies have met every year since A&M joined the SEC in 2014. The Aggies hold a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series, but the Gamecocks have won each of the last two meetings in Columbia.
The Gamecocks will travel to Fayetteville, Ark. for just the second time since 2013 when they tangle with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Nov. 14. South Carolina has won three of the last four games with the Hogs, but Arkansas clings to a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series.
The second-longest running series in school history behind only Carolina-Clemson, the Carolina-Georgia rivalry gets renewed on Nov. 21 when the Bulldogs make their way to Columbia from Athens. Georgia has won 55 of the previous 76 meetings between the flagship schools from neighboring states, with the Gamecocks last win coming in 2019.
The 2026 regular season comes to an end on Nov. 28 when the Gamecocks and Clemson Tigers meet in the annual Palmetto Bowl. The 2026 meeting will take place in the Upstate, where the Gamecocks have won each of their last two visits.
SEASON TICKETS
Whether you’ve been attending games for years or want to experience the magic for the first time, it’s not too early to secure your season tickets for the 2026 season. Season tickets are available for as low as $65 per game with a 10-month payment plan option available. Fans interested in purchasing season tickets for the first time, can place a season ticket deposit today for only $50 plus fees or fill out our season ticket interest form to receive more information. Current season ticket holders will receive information soon on how to renew their tickets for the 2026 season and can contact their Gamecock Club Account Representative today to enroll in the 10-month payment plan. For more information on ticket options for the 2026 season, visit 2026 Football Hub.
2026 SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 vs Kent State
Sept. 12 vs Towson
Sept. 19 vs Mississippi State*
Sept. 26 at Alabama*
Oct. 3 vs Kentucky*
Oct. 10 at Florida*
Oct. 17 OPEN DATE
Oct. 24 vs Tennessee*
Oct. 31 at Oklahoma*
Nov. 7 vs Texas A&M*
Nov. 14 at Arkansas*
Nov. 21 vs Georgia*
Nov. 28 at Clemson
*-SEC game
Nebraska is targeting ex-South Carolina offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley for an offensive staff role, according to the Omaha World-Herald’s Sam McKewon. The role itself is still to be determined.
Teasley spent three seasons as the Gamecocks’ offensive line coach. He had been with the program since 2021, serving as an offensive analyst. He assumed on-field coaching duties for the program in 2022.
Teasley was let go by South Carolina in October, ending his time with the program.
In addition to his coaching role, he was a strong recruiter for the Gamecocks. He most recently landed Darius Gray, the top interior offensive line recruit in the 2026 class. He was also able to land four-star offensive tackle Kamari Blair for the class as well.
Nebraska football has undergone several changes on offense over the last couple of days. They hired former Georgia Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade for the same position on Saturday, following the firing of Donovan Raiola.
The program is making sweeping changes on both sides of the football. Adding Teasley to the staff would be important for the program, which needs to be better prepared across all areas.
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The health department deployed mobile health clinics to the area to provide MMR shots, but few people in the community took advantage. “I can tell you that a relatively small number of doses was administered at each of the mobile health unit clinics that we offered,” Bell said.
No other vaccination clinics are planned, according to the department’s website.
People who are not vaccinated are almost always infected after they’re exposed to the virus; measles is the most contagious known virus in the world and can hang in the air for hours.
The current spread in South Carolina is occurring at several schools and a church in Spartanburg County, Bell said, with 254 people under a three-week quarantine. It takes 21 days for symptoms to occur after an exposure.
But with the ongoing spread in schools, some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year, Bell said. She did not have an exact number of kids in their second quarantine, but said it’s not a “significant proportion.”
While the quarantine includes weekends and holidays, 42 days is a significant amount of time away from the classroom.
The spread of measles is not isolated to South Carolina. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 1,912 measles cases so far in 2025.
The majority of cases have occurred in unvaccinated children and teenagers.
Outbreaks in the Western U.S. are ongoing: 176 in Arizona and 115 in Utah, according to state health officials. One of the Utah cases occurred at a child care facility with a high school in Salt Lake County.
The infected person was at the facility all day, every day last week (Dec. 1 through Dec. 5), the Utah Department of Health & Human Services said.
And health officials in Montezuma County, Colorado, located on the border of Utah and Arizona, reported an unvaccinated child had been diagnosed with measles. The child had no known connection to any other cases and hadn’t traveled outside of the state.
“The lack of a clear source of infection suggests that unidentified measles cases may be occurring in or traveling” through the area, investigators said.
Symptoms of measles can include:
- Headache, fever that may spike to over 104 degrees
- Cough, runny nose
- Red, watery eyes
- Tiny white spots inside the mouth
- A rash that begins on the scalp and travels down to the neck, trunk, arms and legs.
Approximately 11% to 12% of measles cases require hospitalization. Three people, including two young girls, have died in the U.S. this year.
MMR vaccines, given in two doses around a child’s first and fifth birthdays, provide 97% protection against the virus.
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