Conversion Therapy Archives - American Atheists

Atheists: End Conversion Therapy in Virginia

American Atheists — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 18:02:43 +0000

Richmond, VA–Today, American Atheists submitted testimony supporting HB 386, a bill that would protect young LGBTQ Virginians from harmful conversion therapy. Conversion therapy consists of dangerous and discredited practices, often religiously based, that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. This legislation would protect LGBTQ young people in three ways: Professional standards for state-licensed health care providers would consider conversion therapy an unacceptable business practice for anyone under age 18. Those who perform conversion therapy would face disciplinary action. Virginia could not extend funds to support conversion therapy. Image by Daniel Tobias via Flickr under CC 2.0

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End Religious Exemptions in Adoption and Foster Care! Support the Every Child Deserves a Family Act!

American Atheists — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:51:56 +0000

Adoption and foster care programs exist to serve the best interests of vulnerable children, and yet there are 10 states that allow child placement agencies to discriminate. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act (S.1791/H.R. 3114), which was recently reintroduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, would fix this problem. It would prohibit discrimination based on religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status in the adoption and foster care system. No longer could taxpayer funded adoption and foster care agencies cite religion to discriminate against atheist children and potential parents. Support the Every Child Deserves a Family Act! Contact your Senators and Representative and tell them to stop religious exemptions and discrimination in adoption and foster care! This bill will help hundreds of thousands of children and youths to find safe environments and to eventually find their forever families free from religious coercion and discrimination. Currently, there are over 400,000 children who need placement in our foster care system and over 100,000 children who are waiting to be adopted into a forever family. Allowing discrimination against qualified families based on the religious beliefs of others reduces the number of available families and harms these vulnerable children. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act will also protect young people from religious coercion in child welfare systems, such as coercive religious conversion and dangerous conversion therapy. Please ask your Senators and Representative to support the Every Child Deserves a Family Act! Together we can help each child find a forever home, free from religious coercion. We must prioritize the best interests of children — not those who would discriminate against them.

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Atheists: The Every Child Deserves a Family Act would End Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination in Adoption and Foster Care

American Atheists — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 17:17:42 +0000

Washington, DC—Today, American Atheists praised the introduction of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (H.R. 3114). This bipartisan bill would stop federally funded adoption and foster care placement agencies from discriminating against children, adoptive parents, and families nationwide. This legislation is especially important for LGBTQ people, atheists, and religious minorities—the groups most likely to face discrimination. “For far too long, religion has been used as an excuse to discriminate against atheists, LGBTQ people, and members of the ‘wrong’ religious group in our nation’s foster care and adoption system,” explained Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal & Policy. “With more than 400,000 young people in our nation’s foster care system and more than 120,000 awaiting a permanent family, this bill will ensure that every one of them has the best opportunity possible to find a forever home.” “This is about doing what is best for young people,” said Nick Fish, American Atheists’ president. “Unfortunately, ten states have prioritized the dogma of religious adoption and foster care providers above the best interests of the children they’re supposed to serve. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act protects vulnerable children and would-be parents from this religion-based discrimination.” “This is personal for me,” added Fish. “When my parents adopted me, they weren’t asked what religion they believed or which church they attended. All that mattered was that they loved me and put my interests first.” Crucially, this bill will protect children’s religious freedom by prohibiting federally funded agencies from subjecting young people to harmful conversion therapy or religious conversion. “This bill is long overdue,” said Gill. “We thank Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) for their leadership by introducing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act. Every day that goes by without these basic protections for young people is a day too many.”

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Puertorriqueños: ¡Actúen ahora para oponerse a excepciones religiosas peligrosas!

American Atheists — Fri, 17 May 2019 20:06:30 +0000

Legisladores en Puerto Rico pronto votarán dos proyectos de ley que crean nuevas excepciones religiosas. Primero, PS. 1253 permitirá que las organizaciones religiosas reciban fondos públicos mientras se involucran en proselitismo religioso y discriminan a las personas que no comparten sus creencias. Es injusto dar dinero de los contribuyentes a grupos que se niegan a servir a todos los puertorriqueños. Proporcionar fondos de los contribuyentes a grupos religiosos y al mismo tiempo crear privilegios especiales para permitirles discriminar a otros es incorrecto. Estas leyes tendrán consecuencias negativas impredecibles y de gran alcance para la salud, la educación y los servicios sociales de los puertorriqueños. ¡Por favor actúe ahora! ¡Dígales a los miembros de la Comisión sobre Relaciones Federales, Políticas y Económicas del Senado que se opongan a los esfuerzos para crear nuevas y amplias excepciones religiosas! En segundo lugar, la legislatura también está considerando PS. 1254, que afirma prohibir las terapias de reparación para jóvenes por parte de profesionales con licencia, pero a su vez crea excepciones para iglesias y clérigos que permiten que estas prácticas nocivas continúen. Las terapias de reparación son prácticas peligrosas y desacreditadas que se aprovechan de las familias y ponen en riesgo la salud y la seguridad de los niños. Ningún joven puertorriqueño debe estar sujeto a esta conducta abusiva, y nadie debe estar exento de la ley sólo por sus creencias religiosas. ¡Por favor, tome acción ahora! ¡Necesitamos urgentemente su ayuda para detener estas leyes peligrosas!

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Protect Virginia Children from Dangerous Conversion Therapy

American Atheists — Fri, 10 May 2019 19:42:17 +0000

The Virginia Board of Social Work is considering new rules that would prevent social workers from engaging in dangerous and discredited conversion therapy. Unfortunately, however, the Board is facing opposition from the Virginia Catholic Conference and other religious groups. Please help American Atheists support these important protections for young people. Tell the Board of Social Work to pass rules preventing licensed social workers from engaging in conversion therapy! Conversion therapy consists of harmful and discredited practices intended to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Of course it doesn’t work because being LGBTQ is not an illness, and it can’t be “cured.” The National Association of Social Workers and every significant medical and mental health professional organization agree that conversion therapy is harmful and never therapeutically appropriate for minors. Here are several talking points to help you make your comment: Please pass this important guidance to protect young people in Virginia from so-called “conversion therapy,” a dangerous and discredited practice that falsely claims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. These dangerous and discredited practices are based on the false claim that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that needs to be cured—a view with no scientific basis. This guidance protects young people from state-licensed therapists in Virginia who take advantage of parents and harm vulnerable youth by claiming that being LGBTQ is a mental illness. These harmful practices use rejection, shame, and psychological abuse to force young people to try and change who they are. These practices are known to be extremely dangerous and can lead to depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, and even suicide attempts. No young person should ever be shamed by a mental health professional into thinking that who they are is wrong. Mental health professionals should provide care that is ethical and affirming for LGBTQ young people. We can’t allow one more young person to be targeted and hurt by these harmful practices. Please tell the Virginia Board of Social Work that you support efforts to protect youth from conversion therapy!

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Put an End to Conversion Therapy in Minnesota

American Atheists — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 21:25:21 +0000

Minnesota lawmakers are considering HF 12, life-saving legislation that will protect LGBTQ young people in Minnesota from harmful conversion therapy. This bill will soon receive a vote in the Minnesota House. Let’s make conversion therapy a thing of the past! Help pass these protections into law by emailing your state representative now! Conversion therapy consists of practices which falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These practices are based on religious beliefs rather than medical facts—and they can be extremely harmful, especially for young people and their families. HF 12 would protect young people in Minnesota by prohibiting licensed health care practitioners from conducting dangerous and discredited conversion therapy. Conversion therapy has been rejected by every major medical and mental health group for decades because they pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people, including depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior. Please email your state representative now to help pass this vital legislation! Image by Daniel Tobias via Flickr under CC 2.0

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Colorado Residents: Help End Conversion Therapy

American Atheists — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 20:58:53 +0000

Colorado lawmakers are close to passing HB 1129, life-saving legislation that will protect LGBTQ young people in Colorado from harmful conversion therapy. This bill has already passed the House, and it will soon receive a vote in the Senate. Let’s make conversion therapy a thing of the past! Help pass these protections into law by emailing your state senator now! Conversion therapy consists of practices that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These practices are based on religious beliefs rather than medical facts—and they can be extremely harmful, especially for young people and their families. HB 1129 would protect young people in Colorado by prohibiting licensed health care practitioners from conducting dangerous and discredited conversion therapy. Conversion therapy has been rejected by every major medical and mental health group for decades because they pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people, including depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior. Please email your state senator now to help pass this vital legislation! Image by Daniel Tobias via Flickr under CC 2.0

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American Atheists Tells Nebraska to Ban Conversion Therapy

American Atheists — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 20:46:16 +0000

Lincoln, Nebraska—Today, American Atheists and Nebraska Secular Democrats submitted testimony supporting LB167. This bill would protect young LGBTQ Nebraskans from harmful conversion therapy. This bill would protect LGBTQ children in four ways: Professional standards for state-licensed health care providers would consider conversion therapy an unacceptable business practice for anyone under age 18. The bill would subject those who perform conversion therapy to disciplinary action. Nebraska could not expend funds to support conversion therapy, including health coverage for conversion therapy and grants or contracts to organizations that conduct or refer individuals to conversion therapy. For-pay conversion therapy programs would become fraudulent or deceptive trade practices. Image by Daniel Tobias via Flickr under CC 2.0

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American Atheists pushes for Protecting Vulnerable Adults from Conversion Therapy in DC

American Atheists — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 21:22:50 +0000

Washington, DC—American Atheists, on behalf of its constituents in the District of Columbia, provided testimony supporting B22-0972, a measure that would extend the current protections against conversion therapy to vulnerable adults under conservatorship or guardianship. Conversion therapy consists of practices that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Religious beliefs, not medical facts, dictate these pseudo-treatments. Conversion therapy does not include counseling that provides acceptance, support, or understanding of LGBTQ identities; that facilitate coping, social support, or identity exploration; or that address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices; or that provide assistance to a person going through gender transition. Instead, conversion therapy can lead to depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior, and for this reason, the nation’s leading mental health organizations have condemned it. Statistics show that minors experience these dangerous practices as family rejection, resulting in increased health risks. Such youth are 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide and 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression. “Like young people, many people under guardianship or conservatorship are dependent on others for their care, medical decision-making, and legal protection,” declared Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy (pictured above, left). “Individuals in such a vulnerable position would suffer a similar or even greater impact from these dangerous practices.” B22-0972 would protect “incapacitated individuals,” adults whose ability to receive and evaluate information effectively or to communicate decisions is extremely impaired. This ban would make the District of Columbia’s ban the toughest in the country. Gill explained, however, why B22-0972 still does not go far enough: This bill does not address conversion therapy practiced by unlicensed practitioners and religious organizations, [and] American Atheists condemns those practices as well. We suggest that the Committee consider amending the legislation to additionally prohibit anyone appointed as a guardian or conservator by the court, who receives funds from District taxpayers, from subjecting those under their care to conversion therapy. No one should be subject to abuse or mistreatment based on the religious beliefs of their caretakers.

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American Atheists Submits Testimony Supporting Bill Protecting Californians from Misleading Conversion Therapy

American Atheists — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:52:06 +0000

Sacramento, CA—On behalf of its constituents in California, American Atheists has submitted testimony in support of AB 2943, a bill that would protect Californians from unfair business practices related to the dangerous practice of “conversion therapy,” a typically religious-based attempt to change one’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Conversion therapy is a practice, sometimes performed by licensed mental health providers, that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These practices are based on long-discredited beliefs including that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that needs to be cured. Conversion therapy has been soundly rejected as not only ineffective but actively harmful. The proposed bill complements existing professional standards for state-licensed mental health providers which clarify that conversion therapy is not an acceptable professional practice when applied to young people under age 18. This bill would give explicit protection to consumers from the misleading practices of providers who offer conversion therapy by prohibiting “advertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual” in relation to sale of services and business transactions. While there is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, it is clear that conversion therapy poses devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people. These dangerous practices can lead to depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior, and for this reason the nation’s leading mental health organizations have criticized them. Unfortunately, professional rules have not kept up with this widespread understanding, and some licensed mental health providers continue to engage in conversion therapy, often justifying these dangerous practices based on their religious beliefs. Researchers estimate that 20,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13-17 will receive conversion therapy from a licensed mental health professional before the age of 18. While this bill addresses conversion therapy at the hands of state-licensed mental health providers, it does not address the issue of conversion therapy performed by unlicensed religious organizations. Researchers also estimate that 57,000 such LGBTQ youth will receive conversion therapy from a religious or spiritual advisor before age 18. Although this bill does not address conversion therapy practiced by unlicensed religious organizations, American Atheists condemns those practices as well. No young person should be subject to abuse or mistreatment based on the religious beliefs of their caretakers. You can read American Atheists’ full testimony here.

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