White House officials pushed to ban conversion therapy for LGBT youths, pointing to new findings that debunk the therapy.
A ban on the conversion therapy for minors was introduced in Congress on Thursday, following a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
“The science rebukes this so-called practice and so do we,” White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett told reporters on a call Thursday.
The report from the administration includes a consensus from an expert panel held by the American Psychological Association earlier this summer.
The panel found that variations in “sexual orientation and gender identity are normal, and that conversion therapies or other efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity are not effective, are harmful and are not appropriate therapeutic practices.”
It added that there is limited research on conversion therapy for minors, but none of the research available proves that such interventions can alter a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
The report also referred to prior findings from the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association that such therapy could be harmful.
The report goes into existing efforts to eliminate conversion therapy.
Administration officials, when asked about whether such a ban would undermine religious liberty, concede that the issue could be controversial.
“We focused heavily on the well-being of children,” said Elliot Kennedy, special expert for LGBT affairs for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Jarrett said the administration’s focus is on banning conversion for youth, saying that adults are able to make their own decisions.
