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Primary Submission Category: LGBTQ+
Using the Minority Stress Model to Understand Parent and Caregiver Reactions to Gender Affirming Medical Care Ban for Minors in Iowa
Authors: Libby Fry,
Presenting Author: Libby Fry*
Although 27 states have now implemented bans on gender affirming medical care (GAMC) for minors (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2025), due to their relatively new nature, research is meager about the impacts of such policies. In March 2023, Iowa signed such a ban, Senate File 538. This law impacts not only transgender and gender diverse (TGD) minors, but also their parents/caregivers who must ultimately make decisions about how to navigate the change in healthcare access for their minor child. Semi-structured interviews are being conducted with a sample of these parents/caregivers to better understand how they are impacted by the law. Recruitment and interviews started in August 2025 and will continue through the end of April 2026.
Participants are asked questions about parenting experiences along the timeline of SF 538 from introduction to implementation, as well as coping strategies and social supports. Interviews are recorded, transcribed, and coded, using several rounds of deductive coding and then several rounds of inductive coding.
This project uses the Minority Stress Model as a framework for understanding the experiences parents/caregivers of TGD minors report having in relation to the ban on GAMC for minors in Iowa. Participants shared experiences that can be categorized as general stressors such as financial issues, distal stressors such as having to find accessible out-of-state GAMC providers for their minor child and paying for out-of-state care, and proximal stressors such as expecting negative outcomes for their child because of the law. In addition, participants shared coping mechanisms such as engaging in advocacy around the law and building community and social supports such as affirming family and friends that helped mitigate stress they associated with the GAMC ban. At least one participant reported feeling relief in response to the law, rather than stress, since they did not support their minor child accessing GAMC before the age of 18.