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.