Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order Wednesday banning the scientifically discredited practice of so-called conversion therapy on minors in the state.
The state now joins 23 others where the debunked mental health treatment, which aims to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people, is banned for minors, according to the LGBTQ think tank Movement Advancement Project. The executive order went into effect immediately.
"Kentucky cannot possibly reach its full potential unless it is free from discrimination by or against any citizen — unless all our people feel welcome in our spaces, free from unjust barriers and supported to be themselves,” Beshear, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Conversion therapy has no basis in medicine or science, and it can cause significant long-term harm to our kids, including increased rates of suicide and depression. This is about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that hurts them.”
LGBTQ advocates have denounced the disputed treatment for years, citing research that shows conversion therapy can increase risks of mental health issues.
As many as 15% of LGBTQ youths have been subjected to or threatened with conversion therapy, according to a 2023 survey of more than 28,000 queer Americans ages 13 to 24 by The Trevor Project, an advocacy group that aims to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youths. The same survey — which the governor's office cited in its statement — found that 54% of the LGBTQ youths who attempted suicide in the year prior were threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy.
Advocates from The Trevor Project praised the governor's signing of the measure.
“As a proud queer person who grew up in Kentucky, I am thrilled to see the governor take action to protect LGBTQ+ young people from conversion therapy — an abusive practice that has harmed too many of us, for too long across the Commonwealth,” Tanner Mobley, the manager of state advocacy and conversion therapy campaigns at The Trevor Project, said in a statement.
Beshear's executive order comes amid the introduction of a historic number of anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures across the country this year. State lawmakers have weighed 530 anti-LGBTQ measures this year, according to a tally by the American Civil Liberties Union.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
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