Pennsylvania Medical Boards Unite Against Conversion Therapy for LGBTQ+ Youth

The Shapiro Administration reported this week that five state medical boards voted to adopt policy statements against the use of conversion therapy on adolescents who identify as LGBTQ+, calling it dangerous and unprofessional.

The Pennsylvania State Body of Nursing is the most recent body to join the State Boards of Medicine, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Professional Counselors, Psychology, and Osteopathic Medicine in issuing new Statements of Policy (SOP) opposing the practice. The SOPs also rely on Former Governor Tom Wolf’s executive order issued in 2022, which directed state agencies to coordinate and keep kids out of the disproved practice to the best extent of their authority.

The Shapiro Administration stated that under the new policy, credentialed practitioners who engage in conversion therapy will face administrative penalties.

Conversion therapy, often known as reparative therapy, sexuality counseling, or sexual orientation/gender identity change initiatives, is described by the administration as “any practice that seeks or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” “This decisive action makes clear that there is no place for the harmful, dangerous practice of conversion therapy here in our Commonwealth,” stated Josh Shapiro, the governor of the Commonwealth.

“We value real freedom here in Pennsylvania – and no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you pray to, or who you love, you should be able to express who you are and be free from harassment and discrimination.”

All five state boards have now joined numerous national and international health groups in opposing the practice, citing a lack of scientific proof and the damage it causes to minors’ mental health.

“Since hostile speech and pseudoscience continue to dominate many LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians’ clinical encounters, knowing that our state oversight boards saw sense to adopt these protections is a little weight off our shoulders. This is a significant step in informing people that identifying as LGBTQ+ is not an illness or a crime in Pennsylvania.

“You are safe here,” said Ashleigh Strange, Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ+ Affairs.” Troy Stevenson of the Trevor Project noted studies indicating that LGBTQ+ kids who are subjected to the practice are more than twice as likely to try suicide and more than 2.5 times more likely to disclose multiple suicide attempts in the previous year than those who are not.

The Department of State website allows anybody to make a complaint against a licensed practitioner who engages in unprofessional or harmful conduct, such as conversion therapy.