Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed state Religious Freedom Restoration Act after Republican majority rejected anti-discrimination carve-out

On April 2, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2095, the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, into law at a private event hosted by The Family Leader, a conservative Christian organization. Enacted as Iowa Acts Chapter 1003, the law took effect immediately. It establishes that state action may not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion—even when the burden results from a rule of general applicability—unless the government demonstrates that the burden furthers a compelling governmental interest through the least restrictive means.

During Senate debate on February 20, 2024, Republicans rejected amendment S-5018, offered by Sen. Janice Weiner, which would have barred the Act from being applied to override protections under the U.S. and Iowa civil rights acts, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and laws against child abuse and exploitation. The bill's floor manager and sponsor, Sen. Jason Schultz, argued that the exclusion would improperly "pre-determine that civil rights laws should always prevail over religious practice." The Senate passed the bill 31-16 that day; the House passed it 61-33 on February 29, with Republicans voting in favor and Democrats opposed.

Opponents, including LGBTQ-rights advocates and some business groups, said the law opens the door to religiously grounded discrimination against LGBTQ Iowans, single parents, and people seeking reproductive health care. Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group, commended the measure as a "sensible balancing test" for courts reviewing government actions. Reynolds said the law protects "unalienable rights—just as twenty-six other states have done."