Washington Republicans: Shock therapy bad, talk therapy good for ex-gay treatment
Washington State Republicans this week failed to strip verbal counselling, or talk therapy, from a bill which seeks to ban aversion therapy — also known as “ex-gay” or conversion therapy — for youths.
The Spokesman-Review reports that House lawmakers amended a Senate bill — which originally outlawed physical therapy, such as ice baths or electroshock therapy — to include counseling and other forms of talk therapy which attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation. These amendments fell foul of House Republicans, who — led by Rep. Matt Shea (R., Spokane Valley) — attempted to defeat the revisions.
“Shock therapy and ice baths, we all think those are bad things,” Shea said. However, he claimed that altering the bill to include talk therapy would harm free speech and intrude upon the counselor-patient relationship.
Rep. Laurie Jinkins, (D., Tacoma) told The Spokesman-Review that a group of gay adults she meets with have had personal experience of the damage the therapy can do. “[They discussed] really aggressive types of talk therapy,” she said. “It has long-lasting, lifetime negative effects. It doesn’t convert anybody. It doesn’t work.”
The bill ultimately passed with the revisions in place, despite Shea’s objections and a lack of support from Republican lawmakers. It will now return to the Republican-controlled Senate, which must approve the House’s changes.
Image Credit: Cacophony / Wikimedia
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