Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear issued an executive order on Wednesday banning the controversial practice of “conversion therapy” for minors in the state.
The executive order, signed by Beshear on Wednesday, prohibits the use of state or federal funds for conversion therapy on minors and grants Kentucky’s licensure board the authority to discipline any licensed professional found to be practicing it.
Also termed “reparative therapy,” conversion therapy is the umbrella term for efforts to discourage or change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the American Psychological Association.
The APA—which refers to the practices as “sexual orientation change efforts” or “gender identity change efforts”—says that these operate under the assumption that such identities “are illnesses that must be cured” and criticized the common use of “an array of psychosocially harmful techniques, including public shaming or inducing adverse physiological reactions.”
Beshear, a Democratic governor, took the decisive step using his executive powers after the Republican-controlled state legislature blocked multiple legislative attempts to prohibit the therapy.
“Let’s be clear: conversion therapy has no basis in medicine or science, and it has been shown to increase rates of suicide and depression,” Beshear said in a statement. “This is about doing what is right and protecting our children. Hate is not who we are as Kentuckians.”
Newsweek reached out to Beshear’s office via email for comment.
The executive order aligns Kentucky with 23 other states and the District of Columbia, which have similarly outlawed the practice.
Beshear’s actions were also met with support from LGBTQ+ advocates as he signed the executive order during a statehouse ceremony attended by activists for LGBTQ+ rights.
Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, praised the governor for his “bold and necessary action to protect Kentucky’s LGBTQ youth from the harmful practice of conversion therapy.”
“Today Gov. Beshear sends a crystal-clear message to all of Kentucky’s LGBTQ kids and their families – you are perfect as you are,” Hartman told the Associated Press.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at the Democratic National Convention on August 19. Beshear issued an executive order on Wednesday banning conversion therapy for minors in the state.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Meanwhile, the ban also addresses growing concerns over the discredited nature of conversion therapy, which major medical organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association have denounced, citing research that the practice can lead to increased rates of mental health struggles, including suicide and depression among LGBTQ+ youth.
Cathryn Oakley, senior director of legal policy at LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, previously told Newsweek that the practice has been widely debunked and produced “nothing but devastating outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth, including adverse mental health effects, substance abuse problems, and suicidality.”
However, despite growing opposition, conversion therapy remains legal in several U.S. states.
While 23 states have so far passed bills banning conversion therapy for minors, and four states enacted partial bans, 19 states have yet to approve any statewide law or policy aimed at banning conversion therapy for minors.
According to a December 2023 report by The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ individuals, Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio are the five states with the largest number of conversion therapy practitioners.
This comes as transgender youth have continued to be faced with hundreds of bills nationwide as conservative lawmakers have been moving to limit LGBTQ people’s rights, such as access to gender-affirming care, use of bathroom facilities, and participation in sports in places such as Texas, Florida and Virginia. According to the ACLU, at least 510 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures across the country in 2023.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
