On February 28th, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a new policy into law that removed the protections in the Iowa Civil Rights Act for transgender individuals. This law completely redefines how Iowa’s state law perceives sex and gender, specifically stating, “Sex, when used to classify or describe a natural person, means the state of being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth.” This bill follows so many others of the same kind. According to the U.S anti-trans legislation tracker, so far in 2025, 696 new bills discriminate against trans people in the United States.
These laws range from banning LGBTQIA+ books, drag shows and other cultural events to prohibiting mentions of transgender people within the law. The Austrian Human Rights Institute claims that, under international law, these laws are part of a “concerted campaign with the clear intention to eliminate a group…” — the legal definition of genocide. The new Iowa law is no different. As these laws become more common, it is becoming harder and harder to be a trans person in the U.S.
The bill states, “Gender, when used alone in reference to males, females, or the natural differences between males and females shall be considered a synonym for sex and shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role.” This is based on the false idea that gender and sex are the same thing. The Yale School of Medicine has made it readily clear that sex is the biology behind a person and their presentation, whereas gender is the societal idea of how one presents themselves and how society treats them. Medically, it is extremely incorrect to equate the two.
That’s not what these laws care about, however. They aren’t trying to fix some misconception. They want to hurt trans people. Despite all reasoning from the medical community and advocates around the world, these laws and their supporters have not stopped their crusade to harm a group of people under the guise of moral justification, when such legislation is just a way to defend outdated terminology and mindsets.
The goal of the bill, according to Gov. Reynolds, aims to protect women, implying that trans individuals cause some great harm to women. This is bigoted and disgusting. By removing swaths of people from laws designed to protect people, you only create a worse quality of life for that group, not a better quality of life for others.
For those who defend this bill, I leave you with this. In 1896, the case of Plessy v Ferguson allowed the use of segregation laws within states. The court’s decision included the now infamous words “separate but equal.” This decision led to years of pain, discrimination, and suffering for African Americans. Today, it is considered a dark and evil decision on behalf of the U.S. If that is the case, then why does Iowa’s new legislation include words with the same sentiment? “The term equal does not mean same or identical.”
If the actual goal of these bills is to help people, why do they contain language similar to the worst decision the U.S. has ever made? It’s because, in the end, the people proposing these laws don’t want a better society. They want a society devoid of trans people.
