Letters: Transgender bills mandates discrimination

S.1203, which would bar local governments from requiring businesses to allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice, would essentially mandate discrimination against a segment of our state’s population.

As a pediatrician, I find this legislation absolutely chilling. Adolescents (and adults) who are transgender already face a difficult enough experience navigating daily life. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth are four times as likely to attempt suicide as straight youth. They are six times more likely to experience depression than the general population. The passage of S.1203 would tell these people that they do not deserve the same respect and protection afforded to every other resident of South Carolina.

I am proud to live and practice pediatrics in South Carolina. I was proud of our state’s response to the tragedy at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston. I was proud of our response to the historic floods this past fall. South Carolinians stand together. We respect each other. We protect each other. We defend each other.

We do not need legislation such as S.1203 in South Carolina.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Letters: Transgender bills mandates discrimination."