GOP Senators’ Bill Would Ban Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth In Iowa

A bill introduced this week in the Iowa Senate would ban people under age 18 from seeking gender-affirming medical care and make medical practitioners legally and civilly liable for providing related treatment. 

Keenan Crow of One Iowa, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, said SF 110 is a potential death sentence for trans kids in Iowa.

“It bans gender-affirming care for minors and it basically goes against all the guidelines of every major American medical association, and it takes medically necessary care away from kids who need it and who may very well die without it,” they said.

The bill was sponsored by Republican Senators Kevin Alons of Salix, Rocky De Witt of Lawton, Lynn Evans of Aurelia, Jesse Green of Harcourt, Dennis Guth of Klemme, David Rowley of Spirit Lake, Sandy Salmon of Janesville, Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center, and Cherielynn Westrich of Ottumwa.

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The bill defines “gender-transition procedures” as the following:

1. “​​The prescription or administration of puberty-blocking drugs for the purpose of changing the body of an individual so that it conforms to the subjective sense of identity of the individual, in the case such identity is at odds with the individual’s biological sex.”
2. “The prescription or administration of cross-sex hormones for the purpose of changing the body of an individual so that it conforms to the subjective sense of identity of the individual, in the case such identity is at odds with the individual’s biological sex.”
3. “A surgery to change the body of an individual so that it conforms to the subjective sense of identity of the individual, in the case such identity is at odds with the individual’s biological sex.”

These restrictions would not apply to a person under 18 who seeks any of those treatments for a reason other than transitioning. 

“When it comes down to it, this bill is just another attack on the LGBTQ community and specifically trans youth,” said Mazie Stilwell of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa. “The majority party has just decided that trans youth are an easy target to bully this session—I wish they would pick on somebody their own size.”

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SF 110 would make any Iowa medical practitioner who performs any gender-affirming care in the state liable for injury including  “any physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harms, by such procedure, related treatment, or subsequent effects of the procedure or treatment.”

Additionally, a person who receives gender-affirming care or their legal guardian may sue a medical practitioner for “injunctive relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees and costs” up to 30 years after the person who received the care turns 18. 

While those sections of the bill focus on youth, the next sections seem to apply to anyone.

Section 3 said no law can be established in Iowa to require medical practitioners to perform a gender-affirming procedure, while Section 4—perhaps inadvertently—blocks any medical practitioner who “performs any gender-transition procedure on an individual” in Iowa from receiving any payments from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

“The way that is written right now is a serious concern to providers who are providing care to anyone of any age and this is a huge risk, especially for people who are relying on assistance if they’re receiving Medicare or Medicaid,” Stilwell said.

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Stilwell thinks the bill’s authors made that portion of the bill so broad by mistake.

“I would be surprised if the authors actually knew about that unintended consequence of it, but, again, at this point, I wouldn’t put too much past them to just not realize the impact of a bill,” she said. 

“That section, in particular, is one that is of particular concern for all providers and not just those who are focusing on helping youth in need.”

Crow said SF 110 is one of eight bills, so far, introduced this legislative session that One Iowa is tracking that target the LGBTQ community. Many of Iowa’s homophobic bills resemble similar bills being introduced in statehouses across the country.

“I mean it comes down to just wanting to eliminate trans people and they’re going to try to do this piece by piece, bit by bit,” Crow said. “They’ll push as far as the voters will let them push—and right now, that’s kids—but make no mistake, if they could push further they would.”

UPDATE: Mazie Stilwell’s last name was spelled incorrectly in an earlier version of this story.

by Ty Rushing
01/26/23

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