Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed two bills banning “conversion therapy” for minors who identify as homosexual or transgender, turning healthcare providers and parents who do not accept their children were “born in the wrong body” into criminals.
Media coverage of the bills focuses on therapy “intended to change a person’s sexual orientation” but alsos ban therapy aimed at persuading girls they are girls and boys they are boys, rather than “transgender”.
House Bill 4617 defines conversion therapy as “any practice or treatment by a mental health professional that seeks 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.”
This language suggests clinicians and possibly parents who refuse to “affirm” so-called trans kids by dressing boys as girls and using female pronouns for them, and vice versa, could be accused of unlawful activity.
Governor Whitmer insists that as “a mom of a member of the [LGBTQ] community and a proud, lifelong ally” she is “grateful” that Michigan is “banning the horrific practice of conversion therapy”.
As a mom of a member of the community and a proud, lifelong ally, I’m grateful that today we’re banning the horrific practice of conversion therapy in Michigan.
In doing so, we are taking action to make Michigan a more welcoming, inclusive place. pic.twitter.com/5r5Ts3OgyO
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) July 26, 2023
