BANNING CONVERSION THERAPY FOR MINORS

House Bill 5550 as introduced

Sponsor:  Rep. Adam Zemke

Committee:  Health Policy

Complete to 7-26-18

SUMMARY:

House Bill 5550 would add a section to the Michigan Mental Health Code prohibiting mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy with a minor.

Conversion therapy is a treatment based on a belief that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) is abnormal and can be changed, typically using a combination of talk therapy and physical and mental stimuli. The treatment is sometimes practiced by licensed professionals in the context of providing health care and sometimes by religious or spiritual advisors in the context of religious practice.

The bill would define conversion therapy as any practice or treatments by a mental health professional that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including, but not limited to, efforts to change behavior or gender expression or to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward an individual of the same gender. (Conversion therapy would not include counseling that provides assistance to an individual undergoing a gender transition; counseling that provides acceptance, support, or understanding of an individual or facilitates an individual’s coping, social support, or identity exploration and development, including sexual orientation-neutral intervention to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices; or counseling that does not seek to change sexual orientation.)

[The Code defines mental health professional as an individual who is trained and experienced in the area of mental health or developmental disabilities and who is one of the following:

·         A physician.

·         A psychologist

·         A registered professional nurse licensed or authorized under the Public Health Code.

·         A licensed master’s social worker licensed or authorized under the Public Health Code.

·         A marriage and family therapist licensed or authorized under the Public Health Code.]

            The bill would take effect 90 days after enactment.

            Proposed MCL 330.1901a

BACKGROUND:

The bill is understood to be a response to conversion therapy workshops offered by organizations such as FORGE Ministries, hosted by Metro City Church in Riverview, Michigan, in February of 2018. That workshop was offered to girls “by birth” aged 12-16 who were questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity. On February 8, 2018, some of the bill sponsors submitted the following letter to Attorney General Bill Scheutte, calling on him to investigate possible violations of state and federal law:

https://drive.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://media.freep.com/uploads/news/conversion_therapy_letter.pdf

(Of note: those workshops are understood to be conducted by religious or spiritual advisors; the bill would seek to ban conversion therapy by mental health professionals.)

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimated in January of 2018[1] that:

·         698,000 LGBT adults (ages 18-59) in the U.S. have received conversion therapy, including about 350,000 LGBT adults who received treatment as adolescents.

·         20,000 LGBT youth (ages 13-17) will receive conversion therapy from a licensed health care professional before they reach the age of 18 in the 41 states [now 35 states] that currently do not ban the practice.

·         6,000 LGBT youth (ages 13-17) who live in states that ban conversion therapy would have received such therapy from a licensed health care professional before age 18 if their state had not banned the practice.

·         57,000 youth (ages 13-17) across all states will receive conversion therapy from religious or spiritual advisors before they reach the age of 18.

In recent years, a growing number of states have outlawed conversion therapy for minors. California was the first state to ban the practice in 2012. On July 23, 2018, Delaware became the 15th state[2] to outlaw the practice. An additional 32 local units of government in states where the practice has not been outlawed have passed bans at the local level.

Additionally, bills that would prohibit sexual orientation or gender identity conversion therapy from being provided in exchange for compensation have been introduced at the federal level.[3]

FISCAL IMPACT:

            This bill would have a negligible fiscal impact on the state and local units of government.

                                                                                         Legislative Analyst:   Jenny McInerney

                                                                                                 Fiscal Analyst:   Kevin Koorstra

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.

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