Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) issued an executive order that prohibits “conversion therapy” for minors.
Beshear said in a press release, “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.”
He explained that “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.”
According to the executive order, conversion therapy aims to “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and methods include aversion therapy, talk therapy, shaming, and hypnosis, among other techniques.”
The executive order does, however, permit “any practice, treatment, or intervention that assists an individual seeking to undergo a gender transition or an individual who is in the process of undergoing a gender transition.”
State Senator Robby Mills (R) said the order “stands to chill and stigmatize Christian counseling in the midst of a mental health crisis in KY.”
David Walls, the executive director of the conservative organization Family Foundation, said the order is about “muzzling Christian counselors and even pastors from helping children struggling with sexual orientation or gender identity issues.”
We continue to believe that parents and their children should be free to seek counseling that they desire to seek, including faith-based counseling,” he told the Lexington Herald Leader.
