Hours of testimony as House subcommittee hears competing views on parental‑rights bill

Representative Tommy Pope and members of a South Carolina House subcommittee heard several hours of testimony for and against House Bill 4757, a wide-ranging parental‑rights proposal addressing education access to materials, parental notice and consent, administrative complaints and limits on minor medical consent.

Sponsor remarks and supporters: Representative Tommy Pope, the bill's sponsor, described HB 4757 as an effort to bring together educational and medical protections for parents. "I never thought that I'd be needing to have a bill that said parents had charge and involvement with their children," Pope told the panel, thanking stakeholders who helped draft language. Matt Sharp, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, told lawmakers the bill would "reaffirm the role of parents" and secure high levels of judicial review for governmental actions affecting parental rights.

Opposition and safety concerns: Medical students, counselors and civil‑liberties groups urged the committee to reject or amend the bill. Alex Fossum, a second‑year medical student, opposed provisions that would raise the age of medical decision‑making from 16 to 18 and said the change would expose 16‑ and 17‑year‑olds to parental access to sensitive health records, increasing risks to teens seeking sexual or mental‑health care. "This bill . . . will increase sexually transmitted diseases," Fossum said, adding that some teens avoid care when confidentiality is not assured.

Educators and school‑safety advocates said notice and consent requirements for classroom instruction about gender identity and related topics would be vague, burdensome and likely to chill teaching. Dr. Laura Haberkamp, a former K‑12 teacher and librarian, said the five‑day notice provision would force teachers to seek parental permission for routine discussions of gender and literature, which she described as "ridiculous and onerous."

LGBTQ advocates and counseling professionals warned that requirements enabling parental access to records and compelled disclosure of student counseling interactions could endanger youth who face family rejection. Christina Pekasi, executive director of the Harriet Hancock Center, said forced outings and the dismantling of safe school spaces would increase risk to transgender and nonbinary students and hamper life‑saving support.

Supporters from faith and parents' groups urged passage, arguing HB 4757 restores transparency and accountability. Organizations represented in favor included Moms for Liberty and state Baptist leaders, while the League of Women Voters and the ACLU of South Carolina expressed concern about administrative burdens and educational impacts.

Procedure and next steps: The committee paused testimony and recessed until an hour after the House adjourned to finish the record; no floor amendments or final committee action on HB 4757 were taken during the morning session. Lawmakers and stakeholders signaled there will be further opportunities to refine definitions (for example, who qualifies as a "parent") and narrow or clarify notice, record‑access and medical‑consent provisions.

Sources: Testimony from bill sponsors, Alliance Defending Freedom, medical students, teachers, the ACLU, Moms for Liberty, the Harriet Hancock Center and other witnesses before the subcommittee.