PA. Lawmaker Introduces "Reparative Therapy" Ban

From San Diego Gay and Lesbian News:

Pennsylvania State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) has introduced a bill that would ban mental health providers from offering "gay-to-straight" reparative therapy for minors.

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Reparative therapy generally purports to change a person's sexual orientation by using such techniques as aversion or psychoanalytic treatments or spiritual interventions.

"No reputable mainstream mental health association considers being gay, lesbian or bisexual a disease or mental illness. Yet, that is exactly the premise behind this kind of therapy – a wrong assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be 'corrected,'" Josephs said, in a statement.

"As homosexuality is not a disorder, so attempts to 'convert' the sexual orientation of anyone, particularly a minor, threatens the individual's short- and long-term health and well-being," she said.

Josephs noted that the potential negative effects of such treatments include depression, substance abuse, self-loathing and suicide...