Meeting Public Comments

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HF 2557

A bill for an act allowing a person to raise, guide, and instruct a child in a manner consistent with the child’s sex.(Formerly HSB 669.)

Agenda

Subcommittee members: Evans-CH, Dickey, Quirmbach

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026

Time: 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Location: Room 315

Comments Submitted:

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The purpose of comments is to provide information to members of the subcommittee.

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

03-11-2026

Morgan Hockey

I am OPPOSED to HF2557 and ask the subcommittee members to vote NO. This bill, specifically on page 1, lines 1216, would legalize the harmful and discredited practice of trying to change someone's gender with therapy. This practice doesn't work, causes an increased risk of suicide and other mental health issues in its victims, and has been discredited by every major medical association. This practice, known as conversion therapy, has even been called torture by the UN. You can pretend this bill isn't about conversion therapy, but it's right there plain as day on page 1, lines 1216. Again, I ask that you vote NO on this harmful legislation.

03-11-2026

Olivia Hockey

I strongly oppose this bill, & anyone with a conscience needs to vote NO.This bill legalizes conversion therapy for kids. Conversion therapy is child abuse. Don't believe me? Here's MerriamWebster's definition of conversion therapy."The use of any of various methods (such as aversive stimulation or religious counseling) in an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to correspond to the sex the person was identified as having at birthNote: Conversion therapy is generally regarded as having no scientific basis & as being both ineffective and harmful."That note is included in the dictionary to show that the practice is harmful & shouldn't be done. MerriamWebster also defines abuse as "to use or treat so as to injure or damage." So if the dictionary says conversion therapy causes harm, and the definition of abuse is the intentional act of causing harm to someone, then conversion therapy is abuse. Don't legalize abuse.

03-11-2026

Lily Vajgrt

Thanks to the ignorance of this state, I've moved away. HF 2557 will only further ignorance and forcing people to accept conversion therapy as scientific fact. Conversion therapy goes against APA and AMA standards for care, and does harm for gender diverse people. To deny these people their PROPER care is inhumane and NOT maintaining the rights of Iowans! Disgusting waste of time and should be patently illegal on all levels. Federal time for practitioners of barbarism!

03-11-2026

Chloie Smith

Conversion therapy isn't a therapy at all, it's a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. I support parents rights, but I do not support laws that protect child abuse. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices.

03-11-2026

Brian Bruening

I strongly encourage the subcommittee to vote NO on this bill as it puts forward the extremely harmful practice of conversion therapy. This discredited practice has been condemned by all medical associations including the American Medical Association and American Pediatric Association. Passing this bill will open the door to psychological and emotional torture of extremely vulnerable children that is tantamount to statesanctioned child abuse. Again, I urge the subcommittee to vote NO.

03-11-2026

Jennifer Klever-Kirkman

Vote no. Allowing any form of conversion therapy should be considered child abuse. These are scientifically discredited practices that violate ethical standards of care. Why does our state legislature consider this a priority when our public schools are 27th in the nation, we are 44th in terms of patient to physician ratios, 50th in the nation for access to OBGYNs, last in economic growth and second in the nation for cancer rates? Get to the work of fixing the actual problems our state is facing instead of creating "solutions" for problems that don't exist!

03-11-2026

Anita Christensen

I urge you to vote against HF 2557. Socalled conversion therapy is not legitimate therapy. It has been rejected by every major medical and mental health organization, and even the United Nations has identified it as a form of torture. Please oppose this bill and protect young people from harmful interventions.

03-11-2026

AMBER TEUBERT

I urge you to consider clinical and ethical evidence when evaluating legislation related to conversion therapy.Research shows those exposed have nearly double the odds of suicidal ideation, 75% higher odds of suicide planning, and 88% higher odds of suicide attempts. LGBTQ youth experience more than twice the rate of suicide attempts, plus higher rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD.Under Iowa Code 232.68, child abuse includes mental injury; substantial impairment of a child's psychological functioning. Practices linked to increased suicidality and trauma meet this definition.The American Counseling Association prohibits coercive attempts to change a client's sexual orientation or gender identity, calling such practices harmful and ethically impermissible.Please oppose legislation that shields practices proven to cause psychological harm to children.

03-11-2026

Deborah McClure

Please vote NO on HF2557. While it may sound fair enough on its face, this bill ultimately allows parents to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as conversion therapy. Conversion therapy isnt a therapy at all, its a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. The bill is wrapping itself on the guise of more parents rights, parental rights do not extend to child abuse.

03-11-2026

Renae Angeroth

Please vote NO on HF2557. I think we have all moved away from the thinking that being homosexual is a choice. Trying to convince someoneespecially a young personthat they are wrong, or sinful, or making a bad choice because they are homosexual will not change their sexual orientation or gender identity. It will, unnecessarily, make them feel guilt and confusion. Thank you for voting against this legislation.

03-11-2026

Terrii Hale

Please vote NO on HF2557.This measure allows parents to abuse children by using shame to try to convince them that they are not who they believe themselves to be. How awful is it for a child if the adults that they trust most in the world try to force them to doubt their own true selves? That is crazymaking!That is what conversion therapy is. Child abuse. Pure and simple.Instead of legalizing tyranny against LGBTQ kids, the state should be enabling and encouraging a healthier approach: educate the actual people who are confused: those who do not understand what it means to be LGBTQ. It shouldn't be the burden of the children to teach their parents. Parents should seek to understand, not commit psychological torture on their children. Legislators have the opportunity to lead our state with compassion and understanding and acceptance for all of our citizens.Please vote against this horrendous bill.

03-11-2026

Helen Waldmeir

While I understand this bill is based on a partisan issue, it's deeply disappointing that any governing body would condone socalled "conversion therapy." On one hand, this is an antiscience and health bill, as this practice's efficacy has been disproven multiple times; on the other hand, a bill that protects a form of torture condemned by the United Nations is basely hypocritical. I believe in protecting and empowering parents, and I don't believe that any loving parent would feel their child is safe with this bill passed. After the death of Jakory McMillian earlier this week, it is already a challenge to accept that children are safe in Iowa; rejecting this bill would prove that Iowa legislators do, in fact, care for their and families' safety in this state.

03-11-2026

Alice Claussen

I am vehemently opposed to HF2557 and implore the subcommittee members to vote "No" on this bill. Conversion therapy has long been discredited. It does nothing to influence an individuals gender identity and/or sexuality and it can cause serious mental trauma. Why would Iowa want to slide backwards in the quality of it's healthcare? The changing landscape of gender identity and sexuality can be confusing for individuals raised in a different time. Do not let your discomfort and ignorance allow for harmful practices to occur when individuals are at their most vulnerable.

03-11-2026

Jane Robinette

You'll hear people say this is about parental rights which sounds reasonable. I support parental rights. But actually this bill would permit parents to engage in the dangerous and discredited practice of "conversion therapy," which is the opposite of therapy. It attempts, without scientific support, to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Every major medical and mental health organization rejects the practice. The U.N. considers it a form of torture. So, while I support the rights of parents, I do not support laws that protect child abuse as this would do. Please vote NO on this bill.

03-11-2026

John Olsen [self]

Please VOTE NO on HF 2557. Conversion therapy is dangerous and only further damage the mental health of children. It is in the bill on page 1 line 12 through line 16. Please stop the HATE on the transgender community!

03-11-2026

Medea Saunders

Please vote NO on HF2557. While it may sound fair enough on its face, this bill ultimately allows parents to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as conversion therapy. Conversion therapy isnt a therapy at all, its a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. I support parents rights, but I do not support laws that protect child abuse. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices.

03-11-2026

Leah Otting

Another bill for "parental rights" that ultimately translates to making children more vulnerable to abuse. Please vote no to this bill. The research is very clear on conversion therapy practices; they are not theraputic, they are psychologically and sometimes physically abusive. We should pass laws that protect children and their right to be seen, heard, and accepted for who they are. Vote no to protecting abusive, selfish, and homophobic parents.

03-11-2026

Mathew Terronez [Matt Terronez]

03-11-2026

Larissa Boeck

OPPOSED. The purpose of this bill is to enable conversion therapy to be used on children. Major medical organizations including American Psychological Association and American Medical Association condemn conversion therapy as ineffective and harmful, linking it to increased risks of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide among LGBTQ youth. Licensed professionals are ethically barred from providing conversion therapy so it would push vulnerable children toward unregulated, unlicensed providers. This bill reinforces a strict binary view of sex/gender, thereby invalidating trans and nonbinary children's experiences in legal and family contexts. HF 2557l is part of a broader pattern that normalizes rejection of trans identities, increases vulnerability to harassment or family rejection, and will lead to higher rates of mental health crises. This bill protects abusers, not children. That's not what Iowans want. Please vote no on this harmful legislation.

03-11-2026

Kristin Watson

Please vote NO on HF2557. This bill cloaks a green light for conversion "therapy" in the rhetoric of parental rights. Conversion therapy is not therapy; it is a practice the UN has designated as torture and 27 US states and counting have outlawed. Enacting it as a right of parents would not only represent state approval of child abuse, it would be yet another instance of Iowa being on the wrong side of progress. At a time when young people are leaving this state in droves (both my 20somethings have fled, as have many of their friends), the main issue here is, of course, not abusing children. But a major secondary issue is the future of a state that cannot keep or attract residents because of the seemingly endless parade of legislation making it a more and more unattractive place to live and work.

03-11-2026

Nichole Eden

Please vote NO on HF 2557. Previous commenters have eloquently stated the many reasons this bill is harmful and needs to be stopped. Please turn your attention away from culturewars and on to the more pressing issues happening in this state (water quality, cancer rates, limited access to health care, etc.).

03-11-2026

Chelsea Wachholz [Journeys Massage]

Please do not support this bill. This is condoning and legitimizing antiquated practices of conversion therapy. This practice is harmful to children, is outright discrimination, and criminal in the harm it will do to individuals with or without a diagnoses gender dysphoria.

03-11-2026

Jasper Mars

I OPPOSE this bill. This is will legalize conversion therapy, which is proven to be extremely harmful and even dangerous. Conversion therapy has been proven time and time again as ineffective and has been discredited by major medical and mental health organizations. Conversation therapy falsely claims to be able to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. Danger rises as individuals, especially minors, are at higher risk for depression, anxiety, drug use, being unhoused, and suicide. Iowans deserve protections over identity and expression. Iowans have already began fleeing Iowa after last years harmful Civil Rights Removal act. Please uphold your promise that you made when you were sworn in to support, uplift, and protect Iowans.

03-11-2026

Kelly Green

Children deserve policies that are focused on their wellbeing and safety while being grounded in credible medical standards. Please vote NO on this bill and ensure Iowa does not move toward endorsing or protecting practices that have been widely condemned as harmful to children.

03-11-2026

Madi Brauer

Please vote NO on HF 2557! Conversion therapy is abuse, plain and simple. People that partake in conversion therapy sometimes resort to physical abuse to force LGBTQIA+ youth to associate their sexual orientation and authentic gender expression with pain. The United Nations considers conversion therapy a form of torture. Not only that, but it costs money. The cost of conversion therapy on the U.S. economy is an estimated $9.23 billion each year (Movement Advance Project 2025 Report). 23 U.S. states have passed legislation that protects minors from conversion therapy, and EVERY SINGLE BILL has passed with Republican support. Please protect the children of Iowa and set an example for our country. Vote No on HF 2557!

03-11-2026

Emily Plummer

I strongly OPPOSE HF2557. This bill allows parents to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as "conversion therapy". Conversion therapy isn't a therapy at all, it's a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. I do not support laws that protect child abuse. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices.

03-11-2026

Linda Schreiber

Not every baby is born strictly male or femaleand Iowa law needs to recognize that reality.Discussions about intersex conditions are sometimes mistakenly treated as debates about gender identity or sexual orientation. They are not. Differences in Sexual Development (DSD), also called intersex traits, are recognized biological variations involving chromosomes, hormones, or reproductive anatomy. Iowa families who encounter these differences deserve laws grounded in fact and compassion, not assumptions or prejudice. Thoughtful legislation can protect all Iowans, including those with Differences in Sexual Development, rather than leaving them vulnerable to discrimination.Laws that respect science and human variation protect all Iowansthose born typical and those born with Differences in Sexual Development alike. Please oppose HF 2557.Please read my attached letter.

Attachment

03-11-2026

Mary Schenkenfelder

As a licensed psychologist living and working in Iowa, I urge you to vote "NO" on HF2557. Any law that would make it easier to practice conversion therapy is dangerous, and should be opposed. As a psychologist, evidence is important to me. I make treatment decisions based on research and evidence, not based on feelings or ideology. The evidence about conversion therapy is very clear: Conversion therapy does not work, and conversion therapy causes harm (including depression, suicide attempts, lower educational attainment, and lower income levels). When put this way, the choice is clear. The risks of allowing conversion therapy are enormous, and the possible benefits are vanishingly small.

03-11-2026

Maya Hayslett

I am OPPOSED to HF2557 and ask the subcommittee members to vote NO. This bill, specifically on page 1, lines 1216, would legalize the harmful and discredited practice of trying to change someone's gender with therapy. Conversion therapy is a discredited practice (American Psychological Association and American Psychiatry Association)that is ineffective and harmful. Please protect our children, let them be themselves, they are hurting no one by expressing themselves. My children are perfect they way they are, please protect them. We need to expand protections for LGBT youth and adults, they are Iowan's too, you represent them too.

03-11-2026

Erin Gill

The best outcome for any child is a strong relationship with their caregivers. Conversion therapy destroys these relationships and causes harm to kids who are already marginalized by living in a culture that approves only heterosexual / cisgender experiences. The LGBTQ+ community existing causes no harm. This bill will break apart families and ruin childrens lives.

03-11-2026

Marissa Jennings

I strongly oppose HF2557. It allows parents to practice conversion "therapy," which is a form of child abuse. It is pseudoscience that has been rejected by every medical and mental health organization, and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. Conversion "therapy" does not change someone's sexual orientation or gender identityit only serves to harm and traumatize young people. Everyone deserves to be free to be who they are, and we have a special responsibility to protect children. Please vote "No" on this dangerous bill and protect the kids of Iowa from this discredited and horrifying practice.

03-11-2026

Eleanor Bakke

Please vote NO on HF2557. This bill ultimately allows parents to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as "conversion therapy". Conversion therapy isn't a therapy at all, it's a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. EVERY medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices.

03-11-2026

Christine Irvine

Please vote no on conversion therapy!!!Conversion therapy is widely discredited by legitimate mental health and healthcare professionals and organizations. It results in psychological harm.Conversion therapy teaches children (and adults) that being LGBTQ is wrong and to disregard their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Iowa Legislature should not be legitimizing a dangerous practice or considering legislation that will only result in harming children.Iowa has so many other important issues that are being ignored, related to water quality, cancer rates, funding of public schools...etc. Giving attention to a practice that is widely discredited, is harmful and mean just makes Iowa look stupid. Chris Irvine2526 Thornton AvenueDes Moines 50321

03-11-2026

Jamie Nicolino [SMALL BUSINESS OWNER - THE COLLECTIVE]

I urge you to please vote NO on HF2557. I am writing you today as an extremely concerned Iowan dangerous bills like this should not ever make it to committee, medical and mental health organizations have rejected such "conversion therapy" practices and deemed them as forms of torture. This bill is dangerous and causes direct harm to children and families here in Iowa. As an Iowa native and small business owner in our local community in Des Moines, I am utterly ashamed that this bill has even crossed into subcommittee removing civil rights of Iowans is NOT OKAY, torturing children is NOT OKAY. Perhaps our state legislators should be focused on more important things affecting Iowans like the drinkability of our water and the rising cancer rates affecting far too many Iowans. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices. It is bills like this that are pushing families out of Iowa. WE MUST DO BETTER.

03-11-2026

Hannah Mossberg

Please vote NO on HF2557. While it may sound fair enough on its face, this bill ultimately allows parents to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as "conversion therapy". Conversion therapy isn't a therapy at all; it's a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice, and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. I support parents rights, but I do not support laws that protect child abuse. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices. This bill will KILL KIDS not save them.

03-11-2026

Kathleen Winter

Please vote NO on HF2557. While it may sound fair enough on its face, this bill ultimately allows parents to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as conversion therapy. Conversion therapy isnt a therapy at all, its a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. I support parents rights, but I do not support laws that protect child abuse. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices

03-11-2026

Elizabeth Sloan

AGAINST!!!This bill is dangerous for many, many reasons. Most importantly it is legislation that will harm children. This is NOT something Iowans with any moral character believe should be happening to children. DO NOT ALLOW this to move forward.

03-11-2026

Alicia D'Hont

Please vote NO on HF2557. While I support parents rights, the practice of conversion therapy is widely discredited and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. Please vote no on this bill to protect young Iowans from child abuse.

03-11-2026

Chantal Rozmus

My name is Chantal Rozmus. I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist who was trained in Iowa and continues to practice here. I am writing today to urge the subcommittee to vote NO on HF2557. In my time spent working on inpatient psychiatric units, I met MULTIPLE queer youth who were there because of suicidal ideation as a result of their homes not being a safe place. I met youth who attempted to end their lives because of conversion therapy. Every medical and mental health organization rejects the practice of conversion "therapy", and the United Nations considers it to be a form of torture. Putting someone in conversion therapy is like trying to "cure" someone for being lefthanded, and telling them it is immoral and unnatural. This doesn't make the person no longer lefthanded, and it does create significant shame, anxiety, and low selfesteem. Iowa's queer youth deserve better. We aren't trying to make kids queer; we're trying to keep your queer kids alive. HF2557 does the opposite.

03-11-2026

Ashton Bierman

Please vote NO on HF2557. While it may sound fair enough on its face, this bill ultimately allows parents or guardians to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as conversion therapy. Conversion therapy isnt a therapy at all, its a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. I support parents rights, but I do not support laws that protect child abuse. I implore you to vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices.

03-11-2026

Tilly Woodward

I stongly urge you to vote NO on HF2557. While it may sound fair enough on its face, this bill ultimately allows parents to engage in the dangerous, discredited practice known as conversion therapy. Conversion therapy isnt a therapy at all, its a pseudoscientific attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a young person. Because of this, every medical and mental health organization has rejected the practice and the United Nations considers it a form of torture. I support parents' rights, but I do not support laws that protect child abuse. Please vote NO on this bill and protect our kids from harmful, discredited practices.

03-11-2026

Linda Hunsaker

03-11-2026

Nicholas Klinkefus

This bill protects parents rights at the expense of greenlighting the abusive practice of "conversion therapy", which has been denounced by every major medical and mental health association in the country. This is dangerous. As both a mental health professional here in Iowa and a survivor of conversion therapy, I can't imagine the rationale that justifies opening this door. I'm a strong supporter of parents rights but cannot, in anyway, support a bill that enables child abuse to occur. Please vote "no"!

03-11-2026

Stephanie Edmonds

As a nurse scientist who works alongside clinicians and families, I oppose HF2557. Child protection laws exist to allow trained professionals to evaluate each situation based on evidence, safety, and the wellbeing of the child. This bill preemptively removes certain behaviors from being considered abuse, regardless of their impact on a childs mental or physical health. Legislating clinical and family decisions in this way undermines evidencebased practice and restricts the ability of healthcare providers, educators, and child protection professionals to respond appropriately when a child may be at risk.

03-11-2026

Kim Stewart

Vote No on HF2557It is a very harmful bill. Let parents and providers decide this. . You need licensed medical professionals who know what they are doing and people who have no knowledge or experience with. It will be very bad for this young pass. We need to protect children from this type of treatment.

03-11-2026

Emily Harsch

Vote no on this bill. In 2022, economists looked into the total cost of conversion therapy efforts in the US and found $9 BILLION was spent on conversion therapy $8.5 BILLION of that was spent on treating related suicidality, substance misuse, and mental distress following failed conversion therapy attempts. If you pass this bill, you will be opening up Iowa to further spending on a preventable mental health crisis. Will the fiscal note include economic consideration of unnecessarily increased mental health services and burial fees for youth forced through these practices? Will the fiscal note account for lawsuits from reunited or grieving caregivers who don't consent to their children receiving nonevidence based treatment in foster care?Citation: Forsythe A, Pick C, Tremblay G, Malaviya S, Green A, Sandman K. Humanistic and Economic Burden of Conversion Therapy Among LGBTQ Youths in the United States. JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(5):493501. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0042

03-11-2026

Lisa Griffore

Please vote NO. This bill aims to redefine child abuse and allows parents to send their children through conversion therapy. Conversion therapy has been proven to not only be ineffective, but also harmful. If you believe in protecting children, you will vote no.