Categories: Feature

Banning Conversion and Reparative Therapies For Youth: One Step Forward

By Jeane Anasta

President Barack Obama took a significant step on April 9 when he approved a statement supporting state-level bans on “conversion or reparative” therapies for LGBT youth. One part of the statement merits special attention:

“The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy, especially when it is practiced on young people, is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm.”

More than 20 years ago, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (of which I am the immediate past president) condemned such “treatments,” first in a statement issued in 1992 and updated in 2000. The question now is how Obama’s condemnation can be transformed into policy decisions that effectively end such treatments.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STATEMENT

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/response-your-petition-conversion-therapy

Staff