On Monday, March 4, Rep. Liz Bennett introduced HF 576 in the Iowa Legislature. This bill would ban medically unnecessary surgeries for intersex minors. It is the first bill on this topic ever introduced in the Iowa Legislature, and one of only a small handful of bills introduced nationwide.
One Iowa Action Executive Director Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel released a statement thanking Rep. Liz Bennett for introducing HF 576.
“Thank you, Rep. Liz Bennett, for working with One Iowa Action staff to draft and introduce this groundbreaking piece of legislation. Doctors in the United States, including in Iowa, continue to perform medically unnecessary surgeries that can inflict permanent physical and psychological harm on intersex children according to a 2017 report from Human Rights Watch and interACT.
The Iowa Legislature has the power to stop this practice in our state, and we urge Iowans to encourage their legislators to support HF 576. Iowa has a legacy of leading the nation on equality, and we could continue that legacy by becoming the first state to ban these unnecessary and harmful surgeries.”