Maine becomes 17th state to ban conversion therapy for minors

Maine Governor Janet Mills signs law banning conversion therapy. Twitter photo.

Today, Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) signed a law banning conversion therapy for minors.

Gov. Mills tweeted, “Today I signed into law a bill banning conversion therapy, a widely-discredited practice that has no place in Maine. Today, we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people: we stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are.”

The bill passed Maine’s house earlier this month on a 91-46 vote. All the house Democrats voted for the bill, along with five independents and five Republicans, according to LGBTQNation.com.

“The bill bans state licensed medical professionals from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapy is associated with depression, anxiety, and suicide.”

When the bill was passed, state Rep. Michael Brennan (D), a licensed clinical social worker told the Press Herald, “Conversion therapy is not addressing a problem. It is engaging in coercion. And in that respect, we need to stand today and have a law in the state to say that that type of ‘therapy’ is no longer permissible. We have an obligation to protect our young people from interventions that are harmful, and equally important, that have proven to be ineffective.”

Related:
Ending conversion therapy in every state
Conversion therapy is lurking in the shadows

A similar bill was passed by both houses last year, but was vetoed by Republican then Gov. Paul LePage.

Opponents to the bill (L.D. 1025), “said there is no evidence that harmful conversion therapy techniques are being used in Maine,” reported the Herald. “They also warned that the bill’s language would infringe on parental rights and free speech while potentially interfering with professional counselors’ ability to work with juveniles.”

The law defines conversion therapy as, “[A]ny practice or treatment that seeks or claims to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including, but not limited to, any effort to change gender expression or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions, feelings or behavior toward others based on the individual's gender.”

Maine’s ban … would apply “to state-licensed counselors, psychologists, social workers, doctors and other health professionals, guidance counselors, pastoral counselors and marriage/family therapists,” reported the Herald.

“It would not prohibit treatment for individuals undergoing gender transition, counseling that seeks to prevent unsafe sexual practices or any ‘neutral’ talk therapy intended to help a minor cope with issues.

LGBTQ advocates have conducted a long campaign to ban conversion therapy in every state. So far, 17 states and the District of Columbia have done so.

The Movement Advancement Project’s publication, LGBT Policy Spotlight: Conversion Therapy Bans, offers an overview of laws protecting LGBT youth from conversion therapy practices that attempt to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. “These practices, which may include techniques such as shaming, hypnosis, inducing vomiting, and electric shocks, have been widely discredited and renounced, including by groups like the American Psychological Association.”

Copyright The Gayly – May 29, 2019 @ 3:10 p.m. CDT.