This week, there was one bill that captured most of the attention – House File 583/Senate File 418. I want to provide some important information about why this bill was necessary and what it actually does.
First – let me lay out a timeline of important events.
2007: Gender Identity Added to Iowa Civil Rights Act
- The Iowa Legislature, under Democratic control, amended the Iowa Civil Rights Act to include “gender identity” as a protected class.
2019: Iowa Supreme Court Rules on Medicaid Coverage for Gender-Affirming Surgery
- The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that denying Medicaid coverage for sex change surgeries violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
2022: Protecting Girls’ Sports
- The Iowa Legislature passed a law requiring boys and girls to play in sports that correspond to their sex at birth.
2023: Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
- The Iowa Legislature passed legislation banning sex change surgeries and hormone therapy for minors.
2023: School Bathroom Restrictions
- Iowa lawmakers passed a bill requiring school restrooms and locker rooms must be used by individuals corresponding to their sex assigned at birth.
2025: Lawsuit Filed to Challenge the 2023 School Bathroom Law
- On Feb 17, 2025, a parent, along with the ACLU, filed a lawsuit against Liberty High School and Iowa City Schools for their enforcement of the state’s 2023 school bathroom law.
What’s At Stake?
I think these bills I outlined above – to protect girls’ sports, locker rooms and bathrooms and prohibit sex change surgeries on minors – are some of the most important that we have passed during my time as Speaker.
Previous court rulings indicate that these bills cannot co-exist in Iowa code with gender identity as a protected class. For this reason, I felt we had to take action with Senate File 418.
Every Iowan deserves to have their human rights protected and to be treated with dignity and respect. Current Iowa Code, with gender identity as a protected class, does not accomplish this. It results in the infringement of the rights of other Iowans. And it stands in the way of Iowans being able to implement common sense policies.
The hyperbolic argument we’ve heard time and again – that taking this step will cause discrimination – does not hold up to scrutiny. The federal government and 28 other states do not include gender identity in their civil rights code. That includes three states with some of the highest populations of transgender individuals: Florida, Texas and North Carolina.
