Iowa Poll: Majorities support bans on gender-affirming care for kids, LGBTQ teaching limits
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Majorities of Iowans support Republican legislation to restrict instruction on LGBTQ topics in schools and ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.
Iowa Republicans began the 2023 legislative session with a flurry of LGBTQ-related bills, including several to restrict how teachers can discuss gender identity or sexual orientation.
Just before a key legislative deadline, lawmakers advanced another bill to prohibit transgender children from receiving gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and transition-related surgeries.
More than half of Iowa adults approve of the approach the GOP-dominated Iowa Legislature is taking on each of these key LGBTQ issues.
Fifty-four percent of Iowa adults say they favor bills that would ban teaching about gender identity, and the same percentage say they favor legislation banning instruction on sexual orientation. A slightly smaller majority, 52%, say they favor a ban on gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
The poll of 805 Iowans was conducted March 5-8 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The sudden emphasis on transgender-related issues in Iowa comes as red states across the country introduce similar bills to restrict medical options for transgender kids and to prohibit certain LGBTQ and “woke” concepts in schools.
Iowa lawmakers passed a bill last year to prohibit transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. A 2022 Iowa Poll found that Iowans were sharply divided on that legislation.
More:In fight over LGBTQ legislation, some Iowa businesses speak out. Why many remain silent.
Ban on gender-affirming care for minors, soon to become law, wins majority support among Iowans
Senate File 538 would prohibit Iowa doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgery to transgender people under 18. The bill passed through both chambers of the Legislature and is ready to be signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
A majority of Iowans, 52%, support banning gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender or nonbinary minors. Forty-three percent of Iowans oppose the idea.
Fifty percent of Iowans with children under 18 favor the ban, with 44% opposed.
Newton resident Jonah Keeton, a 25-year-old Republican and father of two who responded to the poll, said he would “strongly, strongly oppose any kind of medical care relating to sexuality or gender identity for young children.”
“I think if any parent would give consent for that kind of a procedure for their young child, the parent isn't fit to be a parent in the first place and obviously is manipulating their child or actively doing harm to their child psychologically,” Keeton said.
More:Iowa GOP's plan to ban gender-affirming care for transgender kids explained in 60 seconds
Opponents of the bill in the Capitol and across the state say banning the care will negatively impact transgender kids who are already struggling.
Major American medical associations recommend allowing transgender minors to transition with access to appropriate care.
Democrat Abby Schmidt, a poll respondent and 37-year-old mom of four in Cedar Rapids, said she thinks people’s medical decisions with their doctors are “none of my business and it shouldn't be anybody else's.”
Schmidt said the legislation is a “terrible diversion” from other bills being passed to limit government accountability.
“It's unbelievable the amount of hate that is being branded as protecting children or looking out for their best interests when that’s not it,” she said.
The Iowa Poll found that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to favor a ban on gender-affirming care. More than two-thirds of Republicans, 68%, said the medical treatments should be prohibited for minors.
Democrats split the other way, with 67% saying gender-affirming treatments should not be banned for minors.
Majorities of parents say gender identity, sexual orientation shouldn’t be taught in K-6
There are several proposals on the move at the Iowa Capitol to restrict teachers from instruction on LGBTQ concepts in kindergarten through sixth grade.
The Iowa House on Wednesday passed House File 348, which prohibits any instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through sixth grade.
It’s similar to a controversial Florida law that critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” But Iowa’s proposal goes further, extending past Florida’s third-grade cap to sixth grade.
Fifty-four percent of Iowans say they support a ban on teaching about gender identity, the Iowa Poll found.
Also, 54% say they favor a ban on teaching about sexual orientation in kindergarten through sixth grade. In each case, 44% oppose the bills.
Iowans with children under 18 favor the policies at a slightly higher rate. Sixty percent say schools should prohibit teaching about gender identity through sixth grade, and 57% support a ban on teaching about sexual orientation for the same grade levels.
Poll respondent Pat Fisher, a 34-year-old father of three in Keota, said elementary school is too early to start talking about gender identity or anything relating to sexuality. Fisher, who is a Republican, said the topics haven’t come up for his kids attending the local public school.
“If I asked them if they knew what a transgender person was, they wouldn’t know that, because it’s not taught in our small town,” Fisher said. “But I think that, if that is being taught and kids are being forced to talk about those things, then maybe that’s where some of this transgender stuff is coming from, is being taught at such a young age.”
Alexis Nolte, a 27-year-old business owner and mom who answered the poll and identified as an independent, doesn’t think grade-school teachers should actively instruct on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Nolte said she favors the proposed ban, but she also wants flexibility for discussions that might come up naturally in a class.
“I don't think that it should be a closed conversation,” said Nolte, who lives in Dubuque. “Just maybe, you know, keep the parents informed of exactly what is being discussed.”
Democrats, older Iowans don't approve of bans on teaching gender identity, sexual orientation
Most Democrats don’t support the bills, with 77% opposing a ban on gender identity instruction and 80% opposing a ban on sexual orientation instruction for kindergarten through sixth grade.
A majority of older Iowans also opposed a ban on gender identity instruction in schools.
Fifty-three percent of Iowans aged 65 and older said they oppose a ban on discussions on gender identity in elementary schools. The same proportion said they oppose a ban regarding teaching of sexual orientation.
Karen Slessor, a 67-year-old Democrat living in Grandview who responded to the poll, said she believes Iowans should trust teachers to know what is appropriate for their students. She opposes the proposed legislation to ban sexual orientation and gender identity instruction from some grades.
FAQs: How is the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted? We answer your top questions.
Slessor said she doesn’t understand “all the hysteria” about teachers discussing LGBTQ topics.
“I don't think that translates into transforming anybody into something that you think they shouldn’t be,” she said. “I think kids are going to be who they're going to be, and they should be that.”
Reporter Francesca Block contributed to this story.
Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com or at 410-340-3440. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.
About the poll
The Iowa Poll, conducted March 5-8, 2023, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 805 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Dynata. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex, and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent American Community Survey estimates.
Questions based on the sample of 805 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents—such as by gender or age—have a larger margin of error.
Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.
Iowa Poll methodology
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Most Iowans support LGBTQ bills, gender-affirming bans, Iowa Poll says
