Massachusetts now prohibits conversion therapy for minors

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on Monday signed a legislation into law banning conversion therapy — a practice that attempts to change someone's sexual orientation — for minors in the state, MassLive reports.

Why it matters: This makes Massachusetts the 16th state, including the District of Columbia, to outlaw the practice that is widely opposed by the mainstream medical community as both ineffective and dangerous. A 2018 study by the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University found that rates of attempted suicide by LGBT youths whose parents tried to change their sexual orientation were more than double the rate of those who reported no such attempts.