Maine Bans Conversion Therapy for Minors, State Republicans Say It Is Constitutional Right

The bill ultimately bans state-licensed medical professionals from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Conversion therapy, which claims to be able to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, has been soundly rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization for several decades.

Conversion therapy can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide. In 2007, the American Psychological Association reviewed existing research on conversion therapy and found that the “results of scientifically valid research indicate that it is unlikely that individuals will be able to reduce same-sex attractions or increase other-sex sexual attractions through SOCE.”

But Maine Republicans seem to think the disproven “therapy” that leads to increased chances of suicide for young people is somehow a constitutional right.

“To mandate that people lose their livelihoods, the right to support themselves and their families because they cannot in good conscience comply with this mandate is antithetical to our Constitution and to the principles that have made the United States the special place that it is,” said Republican Maine Representative Richard Bradstreet.

What good conscience would want to use practices such as inducing nausea, vomiting or paralysis or shocking them with electricity while showing the person homoerotic images?

Maine is another state in a growing list of states protecting LGBTQ youth.

Here are the places in the U.S. where gay “conversion therapy” is now banned:
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Hawaii
Illinois
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington
+ DC
+ Puerto Rico pic.twitter.com/wZ6rJKchVD
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 29, 2019