Democrat Introduces Bill To Ban Conversion Therapy Nationwide For Children And Adults

Democratic U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu is introducing a bill that goes further than any state law to date to ban the harmful practice of conversion therapy.

California was the first to ban so-called conversion therapy for minors. New Jersey followed, then Washington, D.C. and most recently, Oregon. The bans have been upheld in court against First Amendment arguments. One New Jersey judge ruled that anyone claiming they can “cure” gay people of being gay is practicing “fraud.”

For decades practitioners of “ex-gay,” reparative, or conversion therapy have falsely claimed that homosexuality is an illness, or a behavior, or a choice, and gay people, often through religious-based “therapy,” could be cured of it, to become “normal.” Others gave claimed they can help those who “suffer” from “same-sex attraction” to control it so they can establish marital relationships with the opposite sex. These quack therapies have been used on transgender people as well.

Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen who died by suicide after she said she endured religion-based conversion therapy, left a suicide note. “Fix society. Please,” she begged.

Last month, President Obama called for states to enact bans on conversion therapy, citing Leelah Alcorn and a White House petition calling for “Leelah’s Law,” a nationwide ban on conversion therapy.

Today, Democratic U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu, held a press conference to announce his bill that would ban conversion therapy nationwide, for both minors and adults.

“The public views conversion therapy as quackery, as something that harms people,” Lieu told BuzzFeed’s Chris Geidner in an exclusive report last night. “Eventually, I believe Congress will catch up to that, but you do need to start somewhere, so that’s why we’re introducing this legislation.”

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has signed on as an original co-sponsor to the bill.

“Conversion therapy is abusive, destructive, discredited, and has no place in any medical practice,” Pelosi said in a statement. “This legislation will stop conversion therapy peddlers from committing these fraudulent and hateful acts against LGBT children and adults. Being LGBT is not an error to be corrected.”

Chris Johnson, the Washington Blade’s Chief Political and White House reporter, tweeted from this morning’s presser:

Lieu’s bill, the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, would, as Geidner reports, use the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the legislation.

“There’s nothing unusual about government going out and trying to protect consumers against fraud. It happens all over the place,” Lieu says. 

“There is no medical condition known as ‘being gay or lesbian.’ That is not a medical disease, defect, and for people to charge money to treat you for something that’s not an illness is fraud,” Lieu says. “There already is an established baseline that you cannot practice medicine below a reasonable standard of care, and when you purport to treat someone for a condition they don’t have, that would be medical malpractice.”

 

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