California has banned controversial therapy
that aims to turn gay teenagers straight, citing studies that show
that the treatment can dramatically increase the risk of teen
suicides.
The ban, which will take affect January 1, was part of a bundle of
more than 100 bills signed into law over the weekend by Governor
Jerry Brown, according to a statement released by his office on
Sunday.
The bill, the first of its kind in the US, was welcomed by gay
rights groups but condemned by conservative activists who argued that
it restricted parents' rights to care for kids who may be confused
about their gender or sexual orientation.
The law bars mental health professionals from conducting so-called
reparative therapy, which has been labeled as dangerous by mental
health organizations.
Specifically, therapists will be banned from providing treatment
that seeks "to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to
eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward
individuals of the same sex."
"This bill bans non-scientific 'therapies' that have driven young
people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in
science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of
quackery," Brown said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle.
