Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds Signs Bill Banning Gender-Related Care For Transgender Minors
- By
- Carlos Santoscoy
- | March 25, 2023
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, has signed a pair of bills targeting the transgender community.
Reynolds signed the bills on Wednesday after meeting with parents of transgender children to discuss the legislation.
One law restricts the bathrooms transgender students can use, while the other bans gender-related medical care for transgender minors.
Reynolds spoke with reporters after meeting with the parents.
“My heart breaks,” she is quoted as saying by The Des Moines Register. “I've sat down and met with them. It's not easy. It's not easy for me either. It's not easy for our elected officials to make these decisions. So I just, I hope they know that.”
On Tuesday, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, signed a similar bill prohibiting gender-related care for transgender minors into law. Another bill in Idaho is awaiting its governor's signature.
Iowa's law, which took effect with Reynolds' signature, gives doctors six months to stop prescribing puberty blockers to their patients under 18. Gender-affirming surgeries are also prohibited, but doctors say such surgeries are rare.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBTQ rights advocate, more than 420 bills have been introduced in statehouses this legislative session, with nearly half of them targeting the transgender community.