Court Upholds Washington State’s Conversion Therapy Ban
Washington state’s ban on conversion therapy for children has been unanimously upheld by a federal appeals court, according to Gay Times.
The September 6 ruling, rejected a Christian therapist’s claim that the ban undermined his freedom of speech and unfairly targeted him because of his religion. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the legislation protects the “physical and psychological well-being” of minors and does not violate the First Amendment.
Judge Ronald Gould added: “Washington, like other states, has concluded that health care providers should not be able to treat a child by such means as telling him that he is ‘the abomination we had heard about in Sunday school. […] States do not lose the power to regulate the safety of medical treatments performed under the authority of a state license merely because those treatments are implemented through speech rather than through scalpel.”
The legislation introduced in 2018 prevents health care providers from attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of those under 18. Conversion therapy is typically defined as any attempt at changing or suppressing a person’s sexuality or gender identity, often involving techniques such as electroshock therapy or prayer.
More than 20 states in the US now have laws against the practice.
Read related myGwork articles here:
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