North Carolina isn’t exactly a liberal bastion, but it just took an important step toward protecting gay youth.

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed an executive order on Aug. 2 that strips gay conversion therapy programs (which rely on the debunked idea that sexual orientation can be changed) of their ability to receive government healthcare funding. This is the right move: The government has no business promoting fraudulent medical practices, and no state should force taxpayers to subsidize a form of child abuse.