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State ban on conversion therapy? Probably not

Jessie Balmert
jbalmert@enquirer.com
Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teenager, committed suicide in December 2014 after she was forced to undergo conversion therapy.

COLUMBUS - Twice a week for six months, Delfin Bautista, then 20, attended therapy sessions to convert into a straight man.

Bautista's mother suggested the sessions with a licensed therapist in Florida after Bautista came out to her. "My mom now recognizes that wasn't the best help, but at the time, it was what she knew."

Bautista, who now lives in Athens, ultimately stopped the sessions. "After six months, I recognized I don't have a problem. We all have our issues that we have to deal with, but who I am in terms of my sexuality and my gender is not a disease."

But others, like Kings Mills teenager Leelah Alcorn, are less lucky. She committed suicide in December 2014 after saying her parents had forced her to undergo conversion therapy.

The proposed legislation, introduced last June, would prevent licensed therapists from practicing conversion therapy, which attempts to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. The practice, sometimes called "reparation therapy" or "sexual reorientation," has been discredited by the American Medical Association, American Physiological Association and others as ineffective and potentially harmful.

"We know that conversion therapy has been discredited by the medical community," said Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Clifton Heights, one of the bill's sponsors. "We need to stop turning a blind eye as families throughout the state are falling apart and start making the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community feel at home in Ohio."

The bill is called "Leelah's Law" for Alcorn. Under the proposal, those who practice conversion therapy could have their professional license suspended or revoked. The change would affect only licensed therapists, not church officials or unlicensed counselors.

"We are doing what we can do. We can’t do everything," Driehaus said.

Proponents of conversion therapy say banning the practice violates freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Conversion therapy should be an option, and lawmakers should stay out of it.

Alcorn's suicide made national headlines and prompted conversations about transgender children and conversion therapy. Following her death, President Barack Obama called for an end to conversion therapy.

In December, Cincinnati City Council banned conversion therapy in the city and imposed a $200-a-day fine on violators. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, is pushing for a federal ban on the practice. Twenty states have either banned or are considering banning conversion therapy, Driehaus said.

But don't count on Ohio being the next one. Driehaus said she had to fight for even one hearing on the bill, which she was entitled to based on when it was introduced. The GOP-controlled state legislature has shown little interest in the bill.

Denise Driehaus

Several Republican lawmakers and a couple Democrats on the committee had left the room before Driehaus and Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Albany, started speaking about their bill. It was a busy day at the Ohio Statehouse, and many were juggling multiple committees. Still, only Democrats asked questions about the bill.

"I think, sometimes, this conversation makes people anxious. They aren't comfortable talking about conversion therapy," Driehaus said.