Iowa has officially stripped gender identity protections from its civil rights code, making it the first state to do so. The new law defines sex strictly as male or female based only on reproductive anatomy at birth. It eliminates the process for changing sex markers on birth certificates and bans transgender women from accessing public facilities such as restrooms and shelters. The implications are severe, leading to confusion amidst existing federal protections that don't cover all workers, prompting fear and possibly causing some residents to leave the state.
Iowa has become the first state in the nation to strip gender identity protections from its civil rights code, a historic rollback that legal experts warn will leave transgender and nonbinary residents vulnerable.
The law, signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, removes gender identity as a protected class and defines sex strictly as male or female based on reproductive anatomy at birth.
Iowa's first openly transgender lawmaker, Aime Wichtendahl, expressed that the law opens up hostility and discrimination behind the mismatch between ID gender markers and appearance.
Advocates state that fear is prompting some transgender individuals to leave Iowa, signaling not just a loss of legal protection but a deepening sense of alienation in the state.
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