Four-month-old Beau Reeves spent his final days in an Iowa hospital without his parents by his side. According to a federal lawsuit, state child-protection workers and a state criminal investigator directed hospital staff to keep his mother and father out of his room, just hours after Beau was rushed to the hospital from his daycare.

Timmeri and Rylee Reeves “begged staff to let them see their dying son, who was 30 feet away,” according to their lawsuit, as reported by the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Beau died four days after he was hurt. On Oct. 28, 2024, a state investigative team agreed the parents had not caused his injuries, the lawsuit says. The daycare provider has since been charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.

The family’s claims have not been decided in court, and the state has not yet responded to the lawsuit. But no family should have to wait for a court case to find out whether they can say goodbye to their child.

Iowa needs a clear rule. Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature should require that parents who have not been charged with harming their child get supervised time at that child’s bedside when the child is critically injured or dying. Investigators can protect evidence and safety by having a staff member or officer in the room, without taking away a family’s last moments together.

Every parent in Iowa deserves to know this cannot happen to them.

Sign the petition to tell Governor Reynolds and Iowa lawmakers: never again keep parents away from a dying child’s bedside.