A group of 28 U.S. Representatives and four U.S. Senators, including Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Suzan DelBene (D-WA), have requested that the federal government ban same-sex attraction therapy.
In a letter addressed February 10, the Senators said that they “urge the Federal Trade Commission to take decisive action to stop the unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent practice of conversion therapy under the authority provided to your agency in the Federal Trade Commission Act.”
Reparative therapy, also known as conversion therapy, same-sex attraction therapy, sexual reorientation therapy, or sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), has been successfully used by doctors and therapists to help patients overcome their same-sex attractions.
According to the Family Research Council, “Most ‘sexual reorientation therapy’ today consists of ‘talk therapy’ – a client simply talking with a counselor about his or her feelings, experiences, relationships with parents and peers, etc.”
Reparative therapy is detested by some secular health professionals who believe that all sexual orientations are normal and healthy. Despite reputable scientific research that demonstrates there is no evidence that people are born gay and that sexual orientation among young people often changes, opponents of reparative therapy allege that it, as well as other approaches that discourage homosexuality, are harmful to patients because it encourages them to reject their true sexual identity.
Parents should be able to seek medical help for their children who are struggling with their sexuality. Medical professionals subvert parental rights when they celebrate and encourage a child’s same-sex inclinations against the moral convictions of the parents.
Likewise, banning reparative therapy takes away the prerogative of families to seek treatment that is in the best interests of their children. Patients are also deprived of the means to seek and procure treatment that may help them overcome their struggles.
Sen. Murray and Rep. DelBene should not be able to prohibit loving parents from seeking treatment for their children. With the help of medical professionals and faith leaders, parents and patients – not politicians in Washington, D.C. – are in the best position to decide what is in the best interest of their children.
