§ 44-43-1510 — Legislative findings.

(A) The General Assembly finds that: (1) A mental or physical disability does not diminish a person's right to health care. (2) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. Section 12101, prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities, yet many individuals with disabilities still experience discrimination in accessing critical health care services. (3) Nationwide, individuals with mental and physical disabilities have been denied life-saving organ transplants based on assumptions that their lives are less worthy, that they are incapable of complying with posttransplant medical requirements, or that they lack adequate support systems to ensure compliance with posttransplant medical requirements. (4) Although organ transplant centers must consider medical and psychosocial criteria when determining if a patient is suitable to receive an organ transplant, transplant centers that participate in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs are required to use patient selection criteria that result in a fair and nondiscriminatory distribution of organs. (5) South Carolina residents in need of organ transplants are entitled to assurances that they will not encounter discrimination on the basis of a disability. (B) The General Assembly declares that the life of a person with a disability who needs an organ transplant is as worthy and valuable as the life of a person with no disability who needs the same medical service.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 2022 Act No. 163 (H.4597), SECTION 1, eff May 13, 2022.