DES MOINES — Today, Governor Kim Reynolds signed bills passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature banning youth from receiving gender transition medical procedures and banning folks from using restrooms not aligned with their biological sex.
Reynolds signed these two bills (among others):
SF 538: A bill for an act relating to prohibited activities regarding gender transition procedures relative to minors, and including effective date and applicability provisions.
SF 482: A bill for an act prohibiting persons from entering single and multiple occupancy restrooms or changing areas and other facilities in elementary and secondary schools that do not correspond with the person’s biological sex and including effective date provisions.
Iowa Action (a pro-LGBTQ gr0up) Executive Director Courtney Reyes condemned the Governor’s actions in a statement:
“With the stroke of a pen in a closed-door signing, Governor Reynolds has signed away the safety of transgender students in schools across the state. She has signed away the ability of physicians to recommend life-saving treatment they deem safest and most effective. She has forced the hand of many Iowa parents who will flee the state to keep their children safe and healthy. Governor Reynolds has shown that parental rights only matter when it’s used to strip the rights of LGBTQ Iowans. This bill isn’t actually about kids. If we were worried about kids, we would ensure that access to gender-affirming care becomes easier, not harder, because that care saves lives. Governor Reynolds will not get the call when a trans child has taken their own life because they do not have access to the care they need. One Iowa will. Churches will. Iowans will. The parents and caregivers will have to sort through unimaginable grief for so many, all because of this legislation that does nothing but harm children. We call on the Governor and her majority to stop using kids as political pawns. Stop these senseless attacks and work on legislation that benefits all Iowans rather than more bills that harm a vulnerable minority. To our beloved trans community: We are with you and will never stop fighting for you.”
Iowa is a “red” state and is dominated by the Republican party. They control the Legislature, the Governor’s seat, and the entire delegation to Congress.