Parental rights bill advances in Iowa Senate
A bill that protects parents from charges of child abuse if they do not allow the child to change genders is a few steps closer to becoming law (KCRG). The bill says that parents cannot be charged with child abuse if they choose to use pronouns of the child’s original birth gender, rather than one the child says they prefer. Parents also cannot be charged with child abuse for enrolling their children into services that are focused on helping them accept their original birth gender. The activist group One Iowa has labeled the bill as supporting “conversion therapy,” which is the use of psychological or physical tactics to enforce a specific sexual orientation or gender identity on a person. The bill will now be considered by the full Senate.
Report: Iowa farmers have lower cancer rate than general population
Iowa farmers have 13 percent few cancers than the general population, a new report says (Iowa Capital Dispatch). In addition, the report shows that while cancer rates for young adults are the second-highest in the country, cancer deaths for that age group are comparable to the national cancer death rate. The only cancers for which farmers’ rates were higher were lip and prostate cancer. The new report is the from Iowa Cancer Registry.
Bill would reduce affirmative action reporting, awareness training
Iowa state agencies would not have to provide affirmative action reports, and police agencies would no longer receive racial and cultural awareness training, under a bill advanced through two Senate committees last week (Iowa Capital Dispatch). The bill was amended to ensure de-escalation training is still required of Iowa law enforcement; opponents say the bill overall further marginalizes people of different cultures and races that already feel marginalized. It now goes to the full Senate.
