Support LGQBTIA+ CommuniityRepublican state lawmakers have sent a bill to ban gender-affirming health care to the governor’s office to be signed into law. As of this writing, Governor Reynolds hasn’t commented on whether she will sign the bill into law, according to the Gazette (March 9). In a related Gazette story (March 9) Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care. The “order aims to make Minnesota a refuge for people seeking health care designed to affirm their gender identity by protecting patients and providers from extradition orders and keeping their data private” (Gazette, March 9, 7A).
Read that again because writing it makes my head spin. Is this real or is this some kind of nightmare? I thought health care AND health care privacy were things we can count on. We have to sign papers to give permission for others to have access to our health records. If a ban on gender-affirming health care is law, “individuals could bring lawsuits against doctors who perform gender-affirming care” (Gazette, March 9, 7A). So “Iowa nice” Iowans could attack (sue) medical providers for providing medical care?
Why is the state legislature deciding who does and doesn’t get health care? What will the legislature decide is “against the law” next?
I support LGBTQ+ families and individuals, and urge Iowans to think about how we got here. How did we “get” a state government that “outlaws” healthcare for LGBTQ+ Iowans?
Gretchen Reeh-Robinson
Mount Vernon
Opposition to Wolf Carbon Solutions continuesYour neighbors are speaking with one voice.
Over 200 landowners in our area have banded together to oppose having Wolf Carbon Solutions place a CO2 pipeline on their property. We have posted our collective objection on the docket of the Iowa Utilities Board.
Who are we? We are like you.
We are young—we are old—and everything in between, ranging in age from 18 to our 80s and beyond.
We are children, siblings, mothers, fathers, grandparents, great-grandparents.
We are farmers, nurses, engineers, workers, teachers, small business owners, retirees, students, and more.
We love the Constitution—we love the land.
But most of all, we love what it means to be an Iowan.
If you ask us why we oppose the CO2 pipelines, you may hear a variety of answers. But beneath that variation, you will discern something that is deeper and more fundamental than any of our differences—our incredible faith in each other. Our community is strong—our community is inspiring. It is our love for our neighbor that keeps us together and gives us the courage to speak with one voice.
Please help us continue to take a stand. Consider adding your comments to those of the hundreds of neighbors who have objected to the CO2 pipeline on the Iowa Utilities Board docket.
Jessica Wiskus
Lisbon