Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order on Thursday banning the use of conversion therapy in Minnesota. The Minnesota Family Council called the order an example of “executive overreach” and said it was an attack on the constitutional rights of Minnesotans.
The order says that the ban does not extend to “counseling that provides acceptance, support, and understanding of a person or facilitates a person’s coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, including sexual-orientation-neutral interventions to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, as long as the counseling does not seek to change the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The executive order reads “So-called ‘conversion therapy,’ sometimes known as ‘reparative therapy,’ is a range of dangerous and discredited practices that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The scientific, medical, and education communities overwhelmingly reject conversion therapy because it lacks scientific validation, poses dangerous health risks to the individuals and communities involved, and contributes to health and social inequities.”
The ban is supposed to ensure that Minnesotans under the age of 18 do not receive conversion therapy and to make sure that the therapy is not covered under insurance companies or state health care plans.
Minnesota Family Council wrote, “Politicians have no business denying people the freedom to find counseling and resources to help them find happiness or to shut down counselors, schools, and religious organization that provide those services.” They say, “Minnesota politicians have no business deciding who gets counseling and support and who doesn’t.”
Minnesota Family Council is also worried about the impact this legislation could have on varying aspects of a Christian view of sexuality and could open the door to “prevent[ing] a counselor from helping an adult client explore all options to address questions over sexual orientation, an author from selling a book challenging gender identity ideology, and even a church from hosting a ticketed conference addressing issues of sexuality and identity.”
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tim Walz” by Tim Walz.
