TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 3
April 4, 2019 - May 1, 2019
Conversion Therapy Ban Bill passed by the Mass. House & Senate Bill between House and Senate shows some discrepancies; Gov. Baker said he’s inclined to sign when ready
By: Audrey Cole/TRT Reporter
IN THE LIMELIGHT
BOSTON—Recently, the Massachusetts House and Senate both passed a Conversion Therapy Ban bill, which would outlaw the practice of conversion therapy for minors, a dangerous practice that harms LGBTQ youth, according to health professionals and activists. “Conversion therapy causes harm to LGBT people, including young people, and it doesn’t work,” said Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy Research of The Fenway Institute. Although the House and Senate bills show some discrepancies between them, Governor Charlie Baker is “inclined to support” the ban, he said via a press conference last week. “They’re different, so I’m not going to speak to either one of them, but if a conversion therapy bill gets to my desk and we don’t see any other issues with it, it’s something we’d be inclined to support,” he said via the conference. The bills received widespread support by both bodies in the Mass. legislature. The Senate voted unanimously to support the ban, with the exception of five abstentions. The House voted 147-8. “ … conversion therapies are not only in-
PHOTO: JANA SABETH SCHULTZ/UNSPLASH
effective, but they increase depression and anxiety, as well as increase suicidality, and can create trauma symptoms in individuals who are subjected to its techniques,” said Will Halpin, LICSW, MPH, Public Health Social Worker, and Licensed Psychotherapist. “I have worked with LGBTQ clients who have sought extensive psychotherapy to specifically heal from the scars of trauma, self-hatred, shame, and desires to
harm themselves by going through conversion therapy programs.” The bill put forth in the House of Representatives by Rep. Kay Khan is “identical to the legislation that passed both the House and Senate last summer, but stalled in the final moments of the formal session before reaching Baker’s desk,” reported the Boston Globe (https://bit.ly/2TF6cBx). “It would ban state-licensed therapists from
practicing conversion therapy with minors and includes an exemption for religious institutions.” The Senate bill has conditions that are more stringent. According to the Globe’s story (https://bit.ly/2TF6cBx), “The Senate bill
See Conversion Therapy On Page 23
