Bill Text: IA SF538 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Enrolled
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to prohibited activities regarding gender transition procedures relative to minors, and including effective date and applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1197.) Effective date: 03/22/2023. Contingent applicability date.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-03-22 - Signed by Governor. S.J. 700. [SF538 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2023-SF538-Enrolled.html
Senate
File
538
-
Enrolled
Senate
File
538
AN
ACT
RELATING
TO
PROHIBITED
ACTIVITIES
REGARDING
GENDER
TRANSITION
PROCEDURES
RELATIVE
TO
MINORS,
AND
INCLUDING
EFFECTIVE
DATE
AND
APPLICABILITY
PROVISIONS.
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
147.164
Gender
transition
procedure-related
activities
——
minors
——
prohibitions.
1.
As
used
in
this
section:
a.
“Gender”
means
the
psychological,
behavioral,
social,
and
cultural
aspects
of
being
male
or
female.
b.
“Health
care
professional”
means
a
person
who
is
licensed,
certified,
or
otherwise
authorized
or
permitted
by
the
law
of
this
state
to
administer
health
care
in
the
ordinary
course
of
business
or
in
the
practice
of
a
profession.
c.
“Minor”
means
an
unemancipated
person
under
eighteen
years
of
age.
d.
“Sex”
means
the
biological
indication
of
male
and
female,
including
sex
chromosomes,
naturally
occurring
sex
hormones,
gonads,
and
nonambiguous
internal
and
external
genitalia
present
at
birth
without
regard
to
an
individual’s
psychological,
chosen,
or
subjective
experience
of
gender.
2.
a.
Except
as
otherwise
provided
in
paragraph
“c”
,
a
health
care
professional
shall
not
knowingly
engage
in
or
cause
any
of
the
following
practices
to
be
performed
on
a
minor
if
the
practice
is
performed
for
the
purpose
of
attempting
to
alter
the
appearance
of,
or
affirm
the
minor’s
perception
of,
Senate
File
538,
p.
2
the
minor’s
gender
or
sex,
if
that
appearance
or
perception
is
inconsistent
with
the
minor’s
sex.
(1)
Prescribing
or
administering
gonadotropin-releasing
hormone
analogues
or
other
synthetic
drugs
used
to
stop
luteinizing
hormone
and
follicle-stimulating
hormone
secretion,
synthetic
antiandrogen
drugs
used
to
block
the
androgen
receptor,
or
any
drug
to
suppress
or
delay
normal
puberty.
(2)
Prescribing
or
administering
testosterone,
estrogen,
or
progesterone
to
a
minor
in
an
amount
greater
than
would
normally
be
produced
endogenously
in
a
healthy
individual
of
that
individual’s
age
and
sex.
(3)
Performing
surgeries
that
sterilize,
including
castration,
vasectomy,
hysterectomy,
oophorectomy,
orchiectomy,
and
penectomy.
(4)
Performing
surgeries
that
artificially
construct
tissue
with
the
appearance
of
genitalia
that
differs
from
the
individual’s
sex,
including
metoidioplasty,
phalloplasty,
and
vaginoplasty.
(5)
Removing
any
healthy
or
nondiseased
body
part
or
tissue.
b.
A
health
care
professional
shall
not
knowingly
engage
in
conduct
that
aids
or
abets
the
practices
described
in
paragraph
“a”
.
This
paragraph
shall
not
be
construed
to
impose
liability
on
any
speech
protected
by
federal
or
state
law.
c.
Paragraphs
“a”
and
“b”
do
not
apply
to
any
of
the
following:
(1)
Services
provided
to
a
minor
born
with
a
medically
verifiable
disorder
of
sex
development,
including
a
minor
with
external
biological
sex
characteristics
that
are
irresolvably
ambiguous,
such
as
a
minor
born
with
forty-six
XX
chromosomes
with
virilization,
forty-six
XY
chromosomes
with
undervirilization,
or
having
both
ovarian
and
testicular
tissue.
(2)
Services
provided
to
a
minor
who
has
otherwise
been
diagnosed
with
a
disorder
of
sexual
development
by
a
physician,
when
the
physician
has
determined
through
genetic
or
biochemical
testing
that
the
minor
does
not
have
a
normal
sex
chromosome
structure,
sex
steroid
hormone
production,
or
sex
steroid
hormone
action
for
a
biological
male
or
biological
female.
Senate
File
538,
p.
3
(3)
The
treatment
of
any
infection,
injury,
disease,
or
disorder
that
has
been
caused
or
exacerbated
by
the
performance
of
gender
transition
procedures,
whether
or
not
the
procedures
were
performed
in
accordance
with
state
and
federal
law.
(4)
Any
procedure
undertaken
because
a
minor
suffers
from
a
physical
disorder,
physical
injury,
or
physical
illness
that
is
certified
by
a
physician
and
that
would
place
the
minor
in
imminent
danger
of
death
or
impairment
of
a
major
bodily
function
unless
surgery
is
performed.
d.
A
violation
of
the
prohibitions
under
paragraph
“a”
or
“b”
by
a
health
care
professional
is
considered
unprofessional
conduct
and
subject
to
licensee
discipline
by
the
appropriate
licensing
board
or
entity.
3.
a.
A
person
may
assert
an
actual
or
threatened
violation
of
this
section
as
a
claim
or
defense
in
a
judicial
or
administrative
proceeding
and
may
obtain
compensatory
damages,
injunctive
relief,
declaratory
relief,
or
any
other
appropriate
relief.
b.
An
action
brought
for
a
violation
of
this
section
shall
be
brought
within
two
years
after
the
cause
of
action
accrues.
However,
a
minor
may
bring
an
action
during
the
minor’s
minority
through
a
parent
or
legal
guardian,
and
may
bring
an
action
in
the
minor’s
own
name
upon
reaching
majority
and
for
twenty
years
after
reaching
majority.
c.
Notwithstanding
any
other
law
to
the
contrary,
an
action
under
this
section
may
be
commenced,
and
relief
may
be
granted,
in
a
judicial
proceeding
without
regard
to
whether
the
person
commencing
the
action
has
sought
or
exhausted
available
administrative
remedies.
In
an
action
or
proceeding
to
enforce
this
section,
a
prevailing
party
may
recover
reasonable
attorney
fees.
d.
The
attorney
general
may
bring
an
action
to
enforce
this
section.
e.
Nothing
in
this
section
shall
be
construed
to
deny,
impair,
or
otherwise
affect
any
right
or
authority
of
the
attorney
general,
the
state,
or
any
agency,
officer,
or
employee
of
the
state
to
institute
or
intervene
in
any
proceeding.
f.
Compliance
with,
or
enforcement
or
implementation
of,
Senate
File
538,
p.
4
this
section
shall
not
constitute
a
violation
of
any
provision
of
chapter
216.
Sec.
2.
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This
Act,
being
deemed
of
immediate
importance,
takes
effect
upon
enactment.
Sec.
3.
APPLICABILITY.
The
following
applies
one
hundred
eighty
days
after
the
effective
date
of
this
Act:
The
provisions
of
the
section
of
this
Act
enacting
section
147.164,
subsection
2,
that
prohibit
a
health
care
professional
from
knowingly
engaging
in
or
causing
certain
practices
to
be
performed
on
a
minor
if
the
practice
is
performed
for
the
purpose
of
attempting
to
alter
the
appearance
of,
or
affirm
the
minor’s
perception
of,
the
minor’s
gender
or
sex,
if
that
appearance
or
perception
is
inconsistent
with
the
minor’s
sex.
______________________________
AMY
SINCLAIR
President
of
the
Senate
______________________________
PAT
GRASSLEY
Speaker
of
the
House
I
hereby
certify
that
this
bill
originated
in
the
Senate
and
is
known
as
Senate
File
538,
Ninetieth
General
Assembly.
______________________________
W.
CHARLES
SMITHSON
Secretary
of
the
Senate
Approved
_______________,
2023
______________________________
KIM
REYNOLDS
Governor
