(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she intends to sign legislation to prohibit Iowa doctors from performing gender transition surgeries or prescribing puberty blockers to minors. “Protecting our children against uncertain science,” Reynolds says. “These are irreversible therapies and procedures.”

Reynolds says she won’t be surprised if there’s a lawsuit filed as soon as she signs the bill, but the governor says she has an obligation to hit pause until there’s more data about the long term effects of childhood gender transitions. Reynolds says age-based restrictions are nothing new in Iowa law.

“We say kids can’t drink until a certain age. We say kids can’t smoke until a certain age. We say you can’t have sex with minors,” Reynolds says .”…We say you can’t get married until a certain age.” The American Medical Association says it’s inappropriate and harmful for any state to limit the range of care for transgender children. The parents of some transgender kids have said they may have to move out of Iowa to maintain treatment plans for their children.

“My heart goes out to ’em,” Reynolds says. “I’m a parent. I’m a grandmother. I know how difficult this is. This is an extremely uncomfortable position for me to be in. I don’t like it, but I have to do what I believe right now is in the best interest of the kids until we can have some more research done or we can see what’s happening in some of these other countries that have been doing this since the ’70s to better understand the impact.”

Reynolds made her comments Tuesday during a news conference in Des Moines. Seven other states have policies in place that ban gender transition care for minors. On Monday, Missouri’s attorney general said he would issue an emergency order requiring an 18-month waiting period and treatment of any mental illnesses before Missouri doctors could provide transgender care to children.