DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG/KCCI) – A new bill in the Iowa legislature would protect children from undergoing conversion therapy.
Conversion therapy is defined as a method used to try and change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual. It’s a scientifically discredited practice.
A bill introduced Thursday would prohibit counselors, psychologists, and health care professionals from performing conversion therapy on children. If a professional contradicts the law, they would face disciplinary action.
Iowa Safe Schools, an organization that provides safe places for more than 10,000 students in the LGBTQ+ community, is supporting the bill, according to station KCCI.
“I’ve talked to individuals who have been victimized by emotional abuse, talk therapy, all the way up to tragic forms of conversion therapy which leave lifelong physical scars,” said Damian Thompson with Iowa Safe Schools.
According to the bill, the Iowa Department of Human Services would be responsible for stopping agencies from trying to identity change efforts. The bill is still in the early stages and has not reached the Senate floor.
