Gov. Tom Wolf issues order to prevent 'conversion therapy' in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday enacted a set of measures to curb the use of "conversion therapy," a widely discredited practice that targets LGBTQ youth. 

In an executive order, the governor instructed commonwealth agencies to discourage the so-called therapy and instead promote therapeutic practices backed by scientific and medical evidence. Moreover, the order says, state officials should consider policy improvements to better support LGBTQ employees and state residents. Finally, Wolf told Pennsylvania agencies to ensure that state funds, contracts and other resources aren't supporting conversion therapy, either directly or indirectly.

Advocates praised Wolf's executive order as an important step in protecting LGBTQ children from being traumatized and stigmatized rather than receiving mental health care. 

"LGBTQ kids and their families are targeted by so-called therapists causing lifelong harm," said Mathew Shurka, co-founder of Born Perfect, a group working to end the practice across the nation. "This is a huge step forward for the health and safety of LGBTQ young people in Pennsylvania."

What is conversion therapy?

Conversion therapy aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Conversion therapy is a traumatic practice based on junk science that actively harms the people it supposedly seeks to treat," Wolf said in a statement, noting that scientific and medical groups broadly oppose it. "This is about keeping our children safe from bullying and extreme practice that harm them."

Research has shown the practice can cause psychological harm, with one study finding that LGBTQ youth who experienced conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to say they attempted suicide in the last year. The American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Academy of Pediatrics have all taken positions against conversion therapy, as have many other medical and mental health groups. 

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