Arizona Signs Conversion Therapy Law

Arizona’s Governor Katie Hobbs has made history by signing an executive order prohibiting licensed therapists from subjecting minors to conversion therapy the dangerous practice that seeks to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. With her order Arizona is now the 27th state to protect youth from this deadly practice whether by legislation, regulations, or executive actions. Mathew Shurka, Co-Founder of Born Perfect stated, “We applaud Governor Hobbs for her leadership in protecting LGBTQ youth & their families from this deadly practice, which has been rejected as unethical & harmful by every leading medical & mental health association in the country. As a survivor of conversion therapy, I know how much this means to others who have been subjected to this abuse.” Conversion therapy has been rejected as unnecessary, ineffective & harmful by every major medical & mental health organization in the country including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association & the American Academy of Pediatrics. According to The Trevor Project’s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People, 15% of LGBTQ young people reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy & those who had reported being subjected to the practice were more than twice the rate of attempting suicide in the past year. Born Perfect is a survivor-led campaign created by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) in 2014 to end conversion therapy by passing laws across the country that protect LGBTQ children & young people, fighting in courtrooms to ensure their safety & raising awareness about the serious harms caused by these dangerous practices.

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