Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Wednesday signed an executive order banning conversion therapy for minors, adding to the list of 23 other states and the District of Columbia that had banned the controversial practice.
The debunked practice aims to change the sexual or gender identity of those who identify as LGBTQ. The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and other medical and mental health groups have found that conversion therapy, also referred to as reparative therapy, is harmful and ineffective.
“Kentucky cannot possibly reach its full potential unless it is free from discrimination by or against any citizen ― unless all our people feel welcome in our spaces, free from unjust barriers and supported to be themselves,” Beshear said in a statement . “Conversion therapy has no basis in medicine or science, and it can cause significant long-term harm to our kids, including increased rates of suicide and depression. This is about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that hurts them.”