Iowa Removes Transgender Protections, Sparks Debate

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday, taking Iowa back in time by removing protections for transgender people from the state’s civil rights code. Honestly, who thought we'd be revisiting these battles in 2025?

Iowa Democrats had initially added these protections in 2007, setting a precedent that the state has now undone, becoming the first to specifically remove gender identity protection from its civil rights code. Ouch.

This move aligns with past actions, like President Donald Trump's executive orders that narrowly define gender and restrict related medical procedures, as well as similar state-level efforts concerning bathroom and sports access.

The bill defines male and female based on reproductive organs at birth. Iowa’s civil rights code will still include protections for race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin and disability status.

Reynolds defended the bill in a video posted on X, stating, "Today I’m signing into law a bill that safeguards the rights of women and girls... It’s commonsense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women. In fact, it’s necessary to secure genuine equal protection for girls. It’s why we have men and women’s bathrooms, but not men and women’s conference rooms. Girls' and boys' sports, but not girls' math, boys' math." She added that the bill aligns Iowa with the federal civil rights code and most other states.

Trump also voiced his support on Truth Social, urging Iowa to "follow the lead of my Executive Order, saying there are only two genders, and pass this Bill – AS FAST AS POSSIBLE."

Critics argue that the law opens the door for discrimination against transgender individuals. Democratic Iowa state Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, a transgender woman, stated, "The purpose of this bill and the purpose of every anti-trans bill is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence... to make our existence illegal."

Protests erupted at the state Capitol, with demonstrators holding signs and chanting against the bill. Keenan Crow of One Iowa, an LGBTQ advocacy group, indicated that legal action is being considered.

All Democrats in the state House and Senate opposed the bill, along with five House Republicans. The law is set to take effect on July 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.