State Rep. Ryan Fecteau
BIDDEFORD — Lawmakers are currently considering a bill proposed by State Rep. Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford that would ban the practice commonly known as “conversion therapy” in Maine.
Fecteau, a Democrat who serves as Assistant House Majority Leader, said that the practice is harmful and has been discredited in other states nationally.
“LGBTQ youth do not have a defect or disorder. They do not need to be repaired,” Fecteau said. “This practice has no scientific validity and has been shown to cause serious harms to patients — especially minors, who are often forced or coerced to participate.”
Under the provisions of Fecteau’s bill, licensed medical and mental health professionals in Maine would be prohibited from engaging in practices that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, also known as “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy.”
In 2018, Fecteau introduced a similar measure that earned the Maine Legislature’s approval, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Paul LePage.
According to Fecteau, 15 U.S. states have enacted laws prohibiting “conversion therapy” and more are expected to follow.
“We will keep working on this issue until we’ve joined the 15 states that have already acted and sent a clear message that this is not a practice that is welcome here,” Fecteau said.
Every major medical and mental health organization has rejected conversion therapy as unnecessary, ineffective and dangerous, he said.
Studies conducted by the American Psychological Association have shown that conversion therapy can result in depression, guilt, helplessness, shame, social withdrawal, hostility and blame toward parents, anxiety, drug use, homelessness and suicide.
The American Association of Christian Counselors, a 50,000-member organization, removed conversion therapy as an accepted practice in its code of ethics in 2014, saying instead that “counselors acknowledge the client’s fundamental right to self-determination and further understand that deeply held religious values and beliefs may conflict with same-sex attraction and/or behavior, resulting in anxiety, depression, stress, and inner turmoil.”
At a public hearing in 2018 about the bill, Peter Michaud of the Maine Medical Association spoke on behalf of the organization in support of the proposed ban.
“So-called ‘conversion therapy’ is not therapy,” Michaud said. “Instead, it is a coercive attempt to force a person to give up their personal identity or orientation and adopt something that is completely unnatural to them. It has no scientific basis whatsoever.”
The Maine Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee will schedule a public hearing on Fecteau’s LD 1025 bill in the coming weeks.
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