Kathy Hotsenpiller and her daughter, Hannah, packed up the car on Monday evening for another five-hour drive to Minneapolis.
Hannah, who is transgender, missed school Tuesday to see her new doctor at the University of Minnesota. Because of a new Iowa law, which takes effect fully this week, transgender minors are no longer permitted to access gender-affirming care within state lines — sending families like the Hotsenpillers to seek it elsewhere.
Amid a national fervor over transgender care for children, Republican leaders in Iowa passed Senate File 538, which prohibits Iowa doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or gender-affirming surgeries to transgender people under 18.
That six-month countdown ends Sept. 18, meaning hundreds of adolescent and teen patients no longer are allowed access to gender-affirming care within Iowa.
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