Letter: Conversion therapy needs to be banned — and the substitute bill wasn’t good enough
In this Jan., 7, 2019, photo, Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R - Clearfield, speaks during the Utah Taxpayers Association 2019 legislative outlook conference, in Salt Lake City. A nationwide push to ban LGBTQ conversion therapy for minors looked like it could succeed in conservative Utah after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it wouldn't stand in the way, but the effort ground to a halt this week. Lisonbee sponsored the changes and insisted she was looking for a compromise that would still protect LGBTQ kids. But activists say some of her Facebook comments revealed by The Associated Press indicate that she supports the debunked practice. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
It’s not really up for debate that conversion therapy needs to be banned; mountains of research plainly demonstrate this. Rep. Karianne Lisonbee’s substitute bill would have continued to allow my younger adolescent self to be legally subjected to a form of conversion therapy that drove me to attempt suicide. Her bill would not have protected me from bad actors in the mental health system. Her bill would not have saved my life or the lives of others. Her bill's language was poor, deeply deficient, ineffectual and — by her own admission — unnecessary. That’s not a compromise. That's not helping. That's not leadership. That's not protecting kids. That's not good enough for me as a survivor of conversion therapy. That's not good enough for Utah. That’s not pro-life.
Andrew Stelter, Salt Lake City
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