The Truth About Conversion Therapy Bans

From city councils to state lawmakers, bans on so-called “Conversion Therapy” are the latest attempt of the Left to attack parental rights and codify Leftist values into society.

The so-called bans are deceptively marketed as a step to enhance youth mental health protections, but in reality, these fraudulent claims actually seek to do the opposite. They seek to deny critical care for young people at a time when they most desperately need, it in order to advance a radical transgender agenda.

The truth is that these “bans” are not about banning practices at all, but about banning values.

There are many issues with banning “Conversion Therapy,” beginning with the term itself. “Conversion” is a misnomer used to give the idea that it is something being forced, rather than undertaken voluntarily.

But which one sounds more like an attempted conversion? Helping a young girl by talking about unwanted anxiety and confusion she has about her body, or taking away the talk therapy option and instead telling her parents the only approach is to affirm her as a boy, push her to “socially transition,” give her testosterone injections and eventually a double mastectomy?

It’s clear which side of this issue is attempting conversions.

The laws and ordinances that are put forth use loose language in an attempt to build an association between abusive forceful tactics and simple talk therapy. They allude to practices that are not in use anywhere today and would already be deemed illegal under existing laws.

That is why these bans are clearly about banning values, not practices.

The bans are out of touch with the latest research and with many medical professionals and parents who prefer to help young people accept their bodies rather than permanently alter them. This approach is based on the fact that 80-95% of children who have confusion about their gender and do not pursue “transition” have their distress eventually go away on its own. So, forcing gender conversion is clearly not the answer.

As one medical doctor I spoke to recently said, “the medical practitioners who are for the medical conversions simply see patients as revenue streams, rather than a patient they want to help.” He went on to say that these doctors are not professionals anyone would trust with standard health care.

If a child gets put on cross-sex hormones at a young age, they can spend between $100,000 and $1 million over their lifetime on drugs and surgeries.

Perhaps that point alone gives insight into what’s really behind the agenda: money. Even still, money is a distant second to the motivation of destroying the traditional family, which is the bedrock of any thriving society.

Banning talk therapy completely ignores the massive movement today of people who are de-transitioning after seeing that transitioning was not the answer to their problem.

So, with so many risks to children and no benefits, why is the practice of forced gender transition allowed by regulators?

Many are surprised to learn that nearly half the FDA’s annual budget is funded by “user fees” paid by the very pharmaceutical companies the FDA is supposed to regulate.

These payments to the FDA by pharma companies are possible because of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) that was originally passed in 1992. The law allows companies to pay for “expedited approval” for drugs or medical devices.

To state it plainly, nearly half the budget of the regulating agency is paid for by the companies the agency exists to regulate. This fact, along with executives rotating between public and private leadership roles, seem to provide a clear example of agency capture.

Fortunately, the long run of self-serving interests of regulators, drug companies and LGBT activists may soon be coming to an end.

We are seeing the tide turning as conservative states are beginning to ban the practice of medically transitioning minors. More than 80 bills are moving through legislatures quickly across nearly 30 states.

Legislation is also in discussion at the federal level, such as the “Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act.” This Senate bill (S.4457) would make “a medical practitioner who performs a gender-transition procedure on an individual who is less than 18 years of age liable for any physical, psychological, emotional or physiological harms from the procedure for 30 years after the individual turns 18.”

While we see signs of the tide turning in our favor, we must continue to push hard for our children. Children are the future of our nation and we must stand ready to fight for them. The truth behind this attempted ban on traditional values is clear.

Listen to this episode as I talk more about a local city example and many of the other important aspects of this fight today.

Ryan S. Howard, Ph.D., is the Host of Cutting Edge Faith, a podcast that shares the truth behind the headlines and equips Christians to live out their faith in the cultural chaos of today. Ryan has worked in global purchasing for more than 15 years and has visited over 20 countries. Ryan is the author of “21 Days to a Spirit-Led Life,” a devotional available as a free download. He lives in Iowa with his wife, Bruna, and their son, John. Learn more at ryanshoward.com