conversion therapy
Conversion therapy bans could prevent hundreds of youth suicides over the next decade
Last Monday, the Akron City Council voted to ban conversion therapy in the city, making it the eleventh city in Ohio to do so. The pseudoscientific practice referred to as “conversion therapy” encompasses counseling aimed at children focused on changing sexual orientation. The practice has been condemned by the American Medical Association, the American Counseling […]
Cleveland City Council moves to ban “conversion therapy”
This week the Cleveland City Council voted to ban conversion therapy within its jurisdiction. Advocates backing the initiative expect Mayor Justin Bibb to sign the legislation. The practice known as “conversion” or “reparative” therapy attempts to coerce LGBTQ people, many of them youths, into altering their sexual orientation or gender identity. The American Medical Association, […]
Lightbody introduces bill to ban conversion therapy
A Democratic Ohio state representative has introduced legislation that would ban the use of conversion therapy for treating minors, a press release said Tuesday. The process of conversion therapy is considered emotionally traumatic and has been linked to higher rates of suicide and depression, according to the American Psychological Association. State Rep. Mary Lightbody, D-Westerville, […]
Conversion therapy is a discredited practice. Ohio hired its advocate as an expert witness.
The Ohio Department of Health hired a conversion therapy advocate to serve as its expert witness in a civil rights lawsuit filed against the state, despite the medical world’s rejection of the practice. ODH lawyers retained Dr. Quentin Van Meter, a pediatric endocrinologist from Georgia, at rates reaching $450 per hour, to support the state’s […]