Feds Issue Formal Call For End To Ex-Gay Torture

A division of the US Department of Health and Human Services today issued a formal call for the end of so-called conversion therapy. Reuters reports:

The report released today by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) comes less than a year after the Obama administration endorsed efforts to ban the practice, which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. “Conversion therapies or other efforts to change sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression are not effective, reinforce harmful gender stereotypes and are not appropriate mental health treatments,” said SAMHSA Special Expert on LGBT Affairs Elliot Kennedy.

Instead, the report says, these youngsters should “be supported in their right to explore, define, and articulate their own identity.” Variations in sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression are normal, Kennedy told Reuters Health. There is no evidence to support the use of conversion therapy, and furthermore, the practice is potentially harmful, according to the report, which was developed with the help of a July 2015 panel of experts convened by the American Psychological Association (APA). Some of the potential harms include increases in depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and poor self-esteem, said Judith Glassgold, associate executive director of the APA’s government relations office in Washington, D.C.

Ex-gay torture is presently banned in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington DC. A bill that would enact a national ban remains mired in the US House. This morning White House Special Advisor Valerie Jarrett will hold a press conference to discuss today’s statement.