Virginia partly reverses conversion therapy ban for minors
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A Henrico court judge overturned part of Virginia's 2020 ban on conversion therapy for kids last month.
Why it matters: The decision permanently allows the use of talk-based counseling to attempt to change a child's gender identity or sexual orientation.
- The practice has long been discredited by medical associations and LGBTQ+ advocates, who say it's harmful and has no scientific basis.
The big picture: The conservative group that sued over the ban announced the decision on Tuesday — the five-year anniversary of Virginia becoming the first state in the South to bar medical providers from practicing conversion therapy on minors.
- The Henrico County Circuit Court judge and Virginia Attorney General's office signed the decree on June 4.
Between the lines: Other forms of conversion therapy — like electric shock or inducing nausea — remain illegal in Virginia, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
- But the Virginia Department of Health Professions will no longer enforce the part of the ban that prohibits talk therapy.
Catch up quick: Founding Freedoms Law Center, the Family Foundation's legal arm, sued Virginia last year over the constitutionality of the ban, alleging freedom of speech and religious freedom violations.
- The center filed the lawsuit on behalf of two Christian counselors, and called the court's decision last month "a major victory for free speech" in a Tuesday statement.
Zoom out: The decision comes months after the conservative-led Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to Colorado's law banning conversion therapy, which could determine the legality of state bans on conversion therapy nationwide.
Go deeper: Supreme Court will hear challenge to Colorado conversion therapy ban