HRC Blog

Earlier this week, a new bill which would crack down on “ex-gay” conversion therapies advanced in the California Senate.

Senate Bill 1172 is sponsored by State Senator Ted W. Lieu and would be the first bill in the nation to regulate those dangerous and widely debunked therapies that promise to change a person’s sexual orientation.

S.B. 1172 requires ex-gay therapists to disclose the risk of harm and get patients’ informed consent before proceeding. The bill explicitly prohibits "reparative" therapy for anyone under the age of 18, even if parents or guardians support it.

“This is junk science and it must stop,” Sen. Lieu told L.A.’s Daily Breeze.

On Monday, the bill advanced from the Senate’s Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee by a 5-3 vote. It should be heard by the California Senate Judiciary Committee in early May.

Just yesterday, Dr. Robert Spitzer – whose now-repudiated 2001 study has been cited for years as evidence that conversion therapy works – issued an apology to the gay community for the damage his misguided study has inflicted. Every major medical and mental health organization in the United States has issued a statement condemning the use of reparative therapy, including the American Psychological Association.

Read more about the lies and dangers of reparative therapy.