Statement Addressing Iowa Anti-LGBTQ Legislation
As an Iowan, researcher, and licensed therapist, I emphatically condemn the 29 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed by Iowa legislators in 2023. These bills pose significant harm to the psychological health of LGBTQ Iowans. Data from research conducted by The Trevor Project (2022) revealed 52% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Iowa seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 22% attempted suicide. These rates of suicidality are not a function of any inherent mental illness among trans and nonbinary youth. They are greater than 5 times more likely to die by suicide because of discriminatory societal narratives and structures which reinforce messages of shame, inequality, and which restrict access to healthcare.
As a field, what we know definitively is gender affirming healthcare saves lives.
For years, established research has demonstrated the efficacy and necessity of gender affirming medicine and mental healthcare. Among leading professional organizations for physicians, researchers, and mental health providers, the following list represents some of the major associations which acknowledge medical necessity of gender affirming healthcare: American Medical Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American Counseling Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of Dermatology, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Nursing, American Academy of Physician Assistants, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, American College Health Association, American Heart Association, American Medical Student Association, American Osteopathic Association, American Public Health Association, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Endocrine Society, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health, National Association of Social Workers, National Commission on Correctional Health Care, Pediatric Endocrine Society, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, World Medical Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
Recent nationwide data from The Trevor Project reflects nearly 90% of trans and nonbinary youth feel their mental health has been negatively impacted by current discourse and legislation limiting trans rights and promoting discrimination. This data also revealed the impact of new healthcare policies (such as those recently proposed by the Iowa legislature), which create barriers or render impossible gender affirming medical care. Of the trans and nonbinary youth polled, 74% reported feeling angry, nearly 60% reported experiencing stress, and over half reported feelings of sadness. Almost half of all those polled said they felt both scared and helpless.
Nearly 50% stated that they felt hopeless.
To trans and nonbinary Iowans and all those impacted by this proposed legislation: You are not alone. You are valued. You deserve to feel safe.
The vast majority of mental health providers and professional organizations are fighting for you, and we will always fight for you and your psychological well-being.
In Solidarity,
Kait Hutson, PhD, LMFT
