A new piece of legislation mght be passed which makes sexual orientation change therapy, commonly referred to as “ex-gay therapy,” illegal to administer to a minor or someone without consent. Proposed by California State Senator Ted Lieu, the bill would alter existing law — which already provides licensing and regulation of the the healing arts community, which include everyon from physicians to counselors — to prohibit psychotherapists, as defined, from performing sexual orientation change efforts in the absence of informed consent of the patient. Anyone under the age of 18 cannot be held to the therpay whatsoever.
If passed, the bill would provide for a cause of action against psychotherapists by patients, former patients, or certain other persons in specified cases. The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) is the most outspoken opponent of the bill, claiming its ex-gay therapy organization is “a professional, scientific organization whose members include fully qualified academics and therapists who are fully licensed professionals and who abide by high standards of ethical care.”
To read Sen. Lieu’s revised bill, click here.