Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law Wednesday two bills that affect transgender minors in the state.
One bill, Senate File 538, prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming care to people under the age of 18. The second, Senate File 482, prohibits trans students from entering school bathrooms or changing rooms corresponding to their gender identity.
The new laws are part of a broader effort among conservative lawmakers across the country to restrict the rights of LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender people. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 400 such resolutions have been filed in state legislatures so far this year.
Proponents of the new Iowa laws say it is necessary to protect children’s safety when using school restrooms and prevent minors from making medical decisions they may later regret. Critics and LGBTQ advocates argue that the bills would have “devastating consequences” for trans youth and their families.
“This is not the first time that a government has abused its power at the expense of a small group of people,” Mark Stringer, executive director of the ACLU of Iowa, said in a statement. “But in this case the targets are children. It’s shameful and cruel.”
Reynolds, a Republican who notably spearheaded this year’s GOP response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News. But speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, she voiced her support for a bill limiting gender-affirming care and argued that more long-term research is needed on the treatment.
“We just need to stop; We need to understand what these emerging treatments can really do for our kids, Reynolds said. “I feel bad for them. I’m a parent, I’m a grandmother, I know how difficult it is. It’s an extremely uncomfortable situation for me. I don’t like it. But I have to do what I believe in.” is in the best interest of the children right now.
Prohibited care for minors under the new Iowa law includes puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and infection-related surgery.
Most forms of gender-affirming care for minors are supported by the nation’s top medical associations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association. However, according to guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, surgery is generally not recommended for people under the age of 18.
Iowa’s anti-transition health care law went into effect immediately after the governor’s signature, making it the ninth state – joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Mississippi, and Florida – to enact such restrictions. to do.
Healthcare providers in the state who are already providing gender-affirming care to patients will have a grace period of 180 days before discontinuing treatment.
The new law restricting transgender people’s use of bathrooms, which went into effect immediately, applies to multiperson restrooms and locker rooms in public and private elementary and middle schools. Trans students who wish to use single-person restrooms must obtain written consent from their legal guardians before receiving permission to do so.
The toilet law comes nearly seven years after a national controversy over a similar bill in North Carolina. The North Carolina law, House Bill 2, was repealed in 2017 after a massive political and financial fallout and prompted the state’s NCAA boycott.
So-called bathroom bills have seen a resurgence in recent months, according to a group of researchers tracking the flow of legislation targeting LGBTQ people. The group found that at least 14 states, including Iowa, have weighed measures so far this year. On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a similar bill into law.
Mike Beranek, president of the Iowa State Education Association, Iowa’s largest union, condemned the new restroom measure.
“The Iowa Legislature has repeatedly targeted the most vulnerable students with rhetoric and legislation designed to suppress, exclude, target, restrict, and censor Iowa’s LGBTQ+ student communities,” Beranek said in a statement Monday. targeted.” “Despite these shameful attacks, ISEA stands with all of our students and fights for them.”
Iowa’s Senate also passed a bill Wednesday that mirrors Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law introduced by Reynolds earlier this year.