Lindsay James, a Presbyterian minister running for Congress in Iowa, supports "gender-affirming care" like puberty blockers and sex-change operations for children who identify as transgender, calling the procedures "medically necessary" and "lifesaving."
James, an Iowa state representative, offered her views on the hot-button issue in a March 2023 interview about a GOP-backed bill that banned "gender-affirming care"—including "puberty blockers, hormone therapies, gender transition surgeries"—for children under 18 years old.
James slammed the Republican bill and rejected questions about whether children are "too young to make such a dramatic life-changing decision."
"Every evidence-based U.S. medical society affirms that gender affirming care is medically necessary and can be lifesaving," said James. "No one wants a politician making private medical decisions that parents and kids should be making with their doctors."
James also lamented that the bill had created "terrible national headlines" for Iowa. The bill passed the GOP-controlled legislature and was signed into law by the Republican governor in 2023.
James's views on medical gender treatments for minors could pose a political problem for her and House Democrats, who hope to flip the Second Congressional District seat in November in their bid to take control of the House. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R.), who is running for Senate, won her House race in 2024 by 16 points, and President Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris by 10 points in the district. But the district is considered competitive in November.
The "gender-affirming care" debate has caused headaches for Democrats in other red states. James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and member of the Texas House, has faced intense scrutiny over his statements that "God is non-binary" and referring to women as "our neighbors with a uterus." In 2021, Talarico headlined an LGBTQ pride event outside Austin alongside an 11-year-old boy who appeared under the name "Kween Kee Kee" in a "youth drag show."
Talarico voted against a Texas House bill in 2023 similar to the Iowa legislation that banned gender-reassignment procedures for minors. Talarico now claims that he does not support sex-change surgeries for minors.
James's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
In the 2023 interview, James accused Republicans of peddling "conspiracy theories" about puberty blockers and gender-transition surgeries.
State representative Steven Holt, a Republican sponsor of the House bill who appeared alongside James in the interview, cited concerns that children would undergo irreversible medical procedures that they may later regret, and that puberty blockers, which halt the development of sex hormones, "inhibit brain growth" and cause osteoporosis.
"Conspiracy theories do not equal science. Google searches do not equal medical degrees. We are talking about evidence-based practices that are affirmed by every medical expert and U.S. medical societies," said James.
In fact, there is a notable lack of peer-reviewed, rigorous research evaluating the efficacy of medical gender treatments, due in part to maneuvering by the transgender lobby, and the best research available has cast serious doubt on claims the treatments are beneficial.
Research studies have found evidence of "a detrimental impact of pubertal suppression on IQ in children" and have linked long-term use of puberty blockers to lower bone mineral density.
Most American medical organizations—under significant pressure from transgender activists—support "gender-affirming" treatments for children, but European researchers are far more skeptical. Medical organizations in France, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, and other European nations have restricted gender procedures for children, citing insufficient evidence about their safety and effectiveness.
James is an outspoken advocate for the transgender community and transgender kids. After the Iowa legislature passed the 2023 bill, James wrote on social media that "God loves trans children."
In 2018, she touted the story of Casen Ford, who, as a fifth grader, "came out to his family as transgender."
"Trans rights are human rights," James wrote.
