Friend –

Years ago, we met a truly wonderful Iowa family – the Christiasons. Their son, Ben, was the first openly transgender student at Cedar Falls High School and even ran boy's track. Gender-affirming care for him was a literal lifesaver. He went on to college, a successful career, a committed relationship, and is thriving as a young adult.

The Christiasons are the subject of an Iowa prime-time television ad we've created with One Iowa and through a generous grant from the ACLU National. Its message is simple: Allow families, not politicians, to make decisions about gender-affirming care and help trans kids thrive.

View the long-form video of the ad.

Ben was lucky. His parents listened to him with open minds and open hearts when he told them at first that he thought he was gay, and then again later when he realized that he was actually transgender. They did what good parents do: They learned, listened some more, and most importantly, they loved and accepted their child for exactly who he is.

Fast forward several years to a different Iowa, one in which students like Ben have been blocked from getting the gender-affirming care they need. We hope this message will help open some other minds and other hearts by showing the amazing, positive results of providing desperately needed access to research-based medical care.

With appreciation,

Mark Stringer
Executive Director, ACLU of Iowa

P.S. Help us launch the ad! We will be having a watch party to unveil the ad on Wednesday, May 17, at 5:30 p.m. at Raygun in Des Moines. Check out the details and registration. Please note: This link will take you to a third-party website, everyaction.com.