Conversion therapy on children could be outlawed in Ohio

NORWALK — A proposed bill could end conversion therapy from being conducted on children in Ohio. Conversion therapy targets members of the LGBTQ community, which represents people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning. According to the advocacy group Equality Ohio, conversion therapy's goal is to "change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, and is particularly harmful to youth." The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ crisis organization, said "conversion therapists use a variety of shaming, emotionally traumatic or physically painful stimuli to make their victims associate those stimuli with their LGBTQ identities." According to a 2009 report of the American Psychological Association, the techniques therapists have used to try to change sexual orientation and gender identity include inducing nausea, vomiting, or paralysis while showing the patient homoerotic images; providing electric shocks; using shame to create an aversion to same-sex attractions; and satiation therapy. The bill State Rep. Mary Lightbody, D-Westerville, introduced House Bill 503 in early February to protect minors by preventing certain health care professionals from engaging in conversion therapy while treating children. "Human beings are complex and each individual is unique. As children grow, we all learn about the world and develop an identity that expresses who we are at heart," Lightbody said in a prepared statement. "This legislation affirms the right of young people to develop their own gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation without those in the medical community trying to change their minds." Lightbody told the Reflector she has been working on the legislation since September. "The practice is not based on science. It's discredited by the medical community and it's harmful to the youth," Lightbody told the Reflector. "(Conversion therapy) is not medically sound and is nothing but harmful." Lightbody said the suicide rate is four times the national average in LGBTQ people younger than 18. House Bill 503 has not yet been assigned to a House committee, where it would be eligible for public hearings. The response "It is a horrific reality that conversion therapy is indeed happening in Ohio, even by licensed professionals within social work, counseling, and psychology despite the practice being condemned by our professions' ethical codes. This bill is an important step forward to ending this incredibly dangerous practice in our state," said Danielle Smith, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Shawn Copeland, the director of Ohio's Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ advocacy group, said House Bill 503 is about saving lives. "No child should be put through the dangerous, debunked and inhumane practice of so-called 'conversion therapy,'" Copeland said. "It is beyond time that we protect Ohio's LGBTQ youth from this harmful junk science across the state and in every jurisdiction." Jim Broyles, director of professional affairs of Ohio Psychological Association, said being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender is normal and is not considered a disorder or something that needs to be changed. "No valid, scientific evidence supports the notion that any treatment intervention can change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Solid evidence exists that these change efforts can be quite damaging for an individual," Broyles said. Broyles said those who are subjected to conversion therapy feel distressed, negative self-image, depression and are at a higher risk of suicide. "So-called conversion 'therapy,' is a dangerous and discredited practice aimed at changing a young person's sexual orientation or gender identity," said Alana Jochum, executive director of Equality Ohio. "All leading medical associations have condemned it for a simple reason: it causes real harm and doesn't work. LGBTQ youth are not sick and they do not need 'fixed.' They need support and acceptance. We applaud Rep. Lightbody and the bipartisan cosponsors backing this bill. May Ohio be the next state to join the nearly 20 states already protecting their youth from this harm." Zoe Fawcett Freggens, education manager of Equitas Health and Equitas Health Institute, said conversion therapy is ineffective and "furthers the health disparities that are already present within our community because of prejudice." Nineteen states, and Washington, D.C., have laws banning conversion therapy for minors. Seven cities in Ohio (Athens, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Kent, Lakewood, and Toledo) have banned conversion therapy as well. "The practice of conversion therapy is a dangerous and discredited practice that is based on a false claim that being LGBTQ+ is a mental illness that must be cured," Lightbody said in a prepared statement. "This view has no scientific basis and has been opposed by professional medical and mental health associations. Ohio must step up to join these other states and localities in ending this practice and prevent future harm."