You Might Like
Illinois becomes fifth state in US to protect LGBTI youth from dangers of conversion therapy
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law on Thursday (20 August) that protects LGBTI youth from the dangers of conversion therapy.
The state follows in the footsteps of California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Oregon.
House Bill 217, approved by the Illinois House of Representatives and General Assembly, protects youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Such therapy has been linked to substance abuse, extreme depression, and suicide.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin calls it ‘a dangerous and appalling practice based on junk pseudoscience that amounts to nothing less than child abuse.’
Griffin also points out that conversion therapy uses fear and shame to tell young people the only way to find love and acceptance is to change the very nature of who they are.
‘We thank Governor Rauner, as well as members of the state legislature on both sides of the aisle, for putting politics aside and the well-being of children first,’ Griffin stated. ‘We will continue to work with our allies to secure these crucial protections in every state across the nation.’
HRC teamed with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Equality Illinois, and other groups in drumming up support for the bill.
‘Illinois families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain,’ said
said NCLR staff attorney Samantha Ames.
Last year, NCLR launched its #BornPerfect campaign to stop conversion therapy across the country by 2019 by passing laws, fighting in courtrooms, and raising awareness. Illinois is the third state to pass such a law in 2015 alone.
The post Illinois becomes fifth state in US to protect LGBTI youth from dangers of conversion therapy appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
You Might Like