Map Shows States Which Still Allow Conversion Therapy
American Psychological Association.The APA – which refers to the practices as "sexual orientation change efforts" or "gender identity change efforts" – says that these operate under the assumption that such identities "are illnesses that must be cured," and criticized the common use of "an array of psychosocially harmful techniques, including public shaming or inducing adverse physiological reactions."Cathryn Oakley, senior director of legal policy at LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, told Newsweek that the practice has been widely debunked, and produced "nothing but devastating outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth, including adverse mental health effects, substance abuse problems, and suicidality."Nevertheless, there is still no countrywide agreement on conversion therapy, with many states yet to legislate against its use.Movement Advancement Project, an equality-focused U.S.
think tank, monitors the changing laws on conversion therapy across the country, seen here on a map created by Newsweek.Some 23 states have so far passed bills banning conversion therapy for minors, with four states enacting partial bans.However, 19 states have yet to approve any statewide law or policy aimed at banning conversion therapy for minors.According to a December 2023 report by The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ individuals, Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio are the five states with the largest number of conversion therapy practitioners.Over the course of its five-year investigation, the organization was able to track down 104 active conversion therapy practitioners in Texas – 67 of whom practice with active unrestricted state licenses.The three states of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals - Florida, Alabama and Georgia – are subject to a preliminary injunction preventing the enforcement of conversion therapy bans, after the court decided in 2020 that legislating against the practice would violate the First Amendment.Other.
