BBA Presents Testimony in Support of Banning Use of Conversion Therapy on Minors
In the fall of 2015, the BBA Council voted to support legislation that would ban licensed health care professionals from engaging in efforts to change sexual orientation and gender identity, often called conversion or reparative therapy. The BBA has a long history of defending principles of non-discrimination and equal protection, and as an organization of attorneys, we recognize that young people should enjoy the fundamental human right to be free from harmful and ineffective “treatments” intended to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
As such, we are proud to be able to continue our advocacy on the ban by supporting H.1190, filed by Representative Kay Khan, and S.62, filed by Senator Mark Montigny, two identical bills that would ban the use of conversion therapy by licensed providers on minors in the Commonwealth. This week we had the opportunity to present testimony in support of this legislation before the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities.
Why we support H.1190 and S.62
As we’ve outlined in the past, this legislation offers necessary legal protection for minors from a practice that medical and child welfare experts agree does not align with current scientific understandings of sexual orientation and gender identity and is not only ineffective but downright unsafe. The American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Association of Social Workers, and the Pan American Health Organization, among many others, have all issued policy statements condemning the practice. These statements make clear that conversion therapy is unnecessary as it attempts to “cure” something that is not an illness or disorder, is ineffective in bringing about the “change” sought, and poses a high risk of seriously harming patients, especially minors.
The use of conversion therapy typically occurs within the context of familial rejecting behaviors and attitudes, and, no matter the parents’ intentions in seeking this “treatment”, will typically be read by the youth as a rejection of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity—that is to say, a repudiation of who they are as human beings. Many studies have shown that LGBTQ minors who face this type of rejection are at a much higher risk of negative health and social outcomes. These youth experience significantly higher rates of depression, substance use, suicide attempts, as well as homelessness and entrance into the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
Under the bill, adults would still be free to choose conversion therapy, no matter how ill-advised, for themselves. But given the substantial likelihood of serious psychological and social harm to minors who are subjected to conversion therapy, it is essential that they are protected from the imposition of this misguided treatment at the direction of their parents or guardians.
The American Bar Association, in its Resolution 112, has also urged that “governments… enact laws that prohibit state-licensed professionals from using conversion therapy on minors,” based on the recognition that LGBTQ people should enjoy the basic right “to be free from attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.” To date, nine states, including New Jersey, California, Vermont, and Connecticut, have passed legislation barring the use of conversion therapy on minors, and it seems now is the time Massachusetts become the tenth state to enact these protections.
Legislative Hearing
At a hearing on June 6, many proponents of the bill, including psychiatrists, pediatricians, social workers, survivors of conversion therapy, LGBTQ-rights advocates, and legislators showed up to support the conversion therapy ban for minors. Following testimony from these supporters, opponents of the ban expressed concern that the bills would restrict legitimate therapies and infringe on First Amendment rights of free speech and free exercise of religion.
The testimony from supporters lasted for more than two hours and included deeply personal stories presented by those who had survived the use of conversion therapy methods like physical aversion and electroshock therapy. The harms that result from the use of these and other practices aimed at changing one’s sexual orientation and gender identity were addressed by a number of the witnesses, including a clinical child psychologist, representatives from the Boston Children’s Hospital, and pediatricians from the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatricians. Witnesses from MassEquality, PFLAG, the Children’s League of Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Teachers Association presented further reasons why passage of these bills is necessary to protect the youth of the Commonwealth. In addition, a panel made up of 12 representatives presented on the need for the legislation and the broad support these bills have in the Legislature. Ninety legislators have signed on to H.1190 and twenty-eight have signed on to S.62 this session.
We were lucky enough to be joined by Elizabeth Roberts of Roberts & Sauer, a member of the Family Law Section Steering Committee, who presented testimony on behalf of the BBA alongside Ben Klein a Senior Attorney with the GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD).
While deferring to the many experts and survivors to explain the psychosocial harms that result from the use of conversion therapy on minors, Roberts and Klein spoke on the legal aspects of the legislation. First Amendment challenges to similar laws have consistently been dismissed in other jurisdictions and the bans have been upheld as valid exercises of the state’s power.
For example, in Pickup v. Brown, the Ninth Circuit upheld a law prohibiting the use of conversion therapy on minors because “[p]ursuant to its police power, California has authority to regulate licensed mental health providers’ administration of therapies that the legislature has deemed harmful.” (740 F.3d 1208,1229 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 2871 (2014), and cert. denied sub nom. Welch v. Brown, 134 S. Ct. 2881 (2014)). The court found the bill did not regulate protected speech but rather protected vulnerable young people from treatments deemed ineffective and unsafe by the overwhelming consensus of medical and child welfare experts. In 2014, the Supreme Court declined to review the law after the court rejected the claim that the legislation infringed on free speech. Additionally, just last month, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging the California law on the grounds that it impinged upon the free exercise of religion.
Reaching a similar outcome through a different approach, the Third Circuit upheld the New Jersey ban in King v. Christie (767 F.3d 216 (3d Cir. 2014)). While the Court viewed the law as a regulation on speech, it found this to be a permissible restriction because it easily passed review under the intermediate scrutiny standard that applies to restrictions on “professional speech.” Ultimately the court found it reasonable to conclude a minor client might suffer harm from the use of the practice, given the substantial evidence of the likelihood of such harm presented to state legislators.
Thus, as both Roberts and Klein told the Committee, the existing case law makes it clear that the bills, like H.1190 and S.62, are valid exercises of the Commonwealth’s power to regulate medical professionals and protect public health and safety. And the youth and families of Massachusetts deserve assurance that minors will not face harmful or abusive treatment when seeking assistance from licensed professionals. As noted above, the BBA recognizes the fundamental human right to be free from abusive practices meant to change one’s identity or expression of that identity and will continue to advocate for these bills to protect this right for minors in the Commonwealth.
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We appreciated the opportunity to share support of the bills with the Committee and will keep you posted on the status of this important legislation.
—Alexa Daniel
Legislative and Public Policy Manager
Boston Bar Association