DES MOINES, Iowa — With the funnel deadline looming, lawmakers are busy in subcommittee and committee meetings this week.
One of the measures considered on Tuesday mandates students use the bathroom matching their gender assigned at birth.
"When my daughter is in the restroom she just wants to use the restroom," said Breanna Young, who's a mom to transgender kids. "She's not there to harm your children, she's just there to use the bathroom just like any other kids are."
Iowans who are against this measure, like Young, are pushing back on the idea that transgender youth are a risk or threat to others in the bathroom.
"Transgender youth in Iowa have been able to use the restroom that matches their gender identity since 2007," said Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy at One Iowa. "And over that 15-year period we haven't seen any uptick in school restroom safety incidents."
Supporters, however, say this is a common sense change that is long overdue.
"This is a common sense and proactive legislation to prevent a tragedy from happening in Iowa like we saw in the Virginia school," said parent Samantha Fett. "Where a sexual assault happened in the bathroom."
"I want to point out my concern isn't about transgenders," said parent Amber Williams. "It's not those individuals that are most likely to be sexual predators, but rather the sexual predators that could exploit this situation by posing as transgender to gain access to women and girls."
Lawmakers also considered a bill banning gender-affirming care for Iowans under the age of 18.
Supporters say these medications and procedures are harmful to young Iowans, who they believe will likely regret their decisions later in life.
"This is not a decision that should be made by them or their parents during their minor years," said parent Shellie Flockhart. "Their brains don't fully develop until they're 26."
Those against the measure, however, say every medical association supports gender-affirming care along with the evidence based research.
"We once again need to speak up to keep third-party decision makers out of our exam rooms in our clinics and our hospitals across the state of Iowa," said Dr. Kaaren Oleson, OBGYN Clinic Section Chief at Broadlawns Medical Center. "And keep the decisions and discussions between a patient and their healthcare provider."
Bills must be out of committee by the end of the week to be eligible for consideration throughout the rest of the session.