Kentucky Governor Bans Conversion Therapy for Minors

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed an executive order Wednesday banning conversion therapy for minors, joining 23 other states and the District of Columbia that have banned the controversial practice.

This debunked practice aims to change the sexual or gender identity of people who identify as LGBTQ. The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and other medical and mental health groups have found that conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, is harmful and ineffective.

“Kentucky cannot reach its full potential if it is not free from discrimination by or against its citizens, unless all of our citizens feel welcome in our spaces, free from unfair barriers, and supported to be themselves,” Beshear said in a statement. “Conversion therapy has no medical or scientific basis and can cause significant long-term harm to our children, including increased rates of suicide and depression. This is about protecting our young people from an inhumane practice that harms them.”

According to a 2023 survey by The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the LGBTQ community, 10% of LGBTQ youth in the United States have been threatened with conversion therapy, and 5% have been forced to undergo it. The same organization also found that 28% of LQBTQ youth who attempted suicide in the past year had been threatened with conversion therapy. An additional 28% had been subjected to conversion therapy.

The number increases in Kentucky, where 21% of LQBTQ youth have been threatened or subjected to this discredited practice.

“As we continue to see a historic wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in states across the United States, this executive order serves as a powerful reminder that LGBTQ+ youth have allies and leaders supporting them in every corner of our country,” Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black said in a statement, calling it “a monumental step forward in protecting the health and safety of Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ youth.”

In 2024 alone, 530 anti-LGBTQ bills were proposed in the United States.

Opponents say the decree infringes on religious freedom.

“This executive order disregards First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and speech and violates the fundamental rights and responsibilities of parents to their children,” members of the Senate Republican Majority Caucus said in a statement, which did not address the dangers of conversion therapy.

“This is not about politics at all,” Beshear said Wednesday, adding that “it’s not even about gender or sexuality. It’s about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that is harming them.”