Last week, Equality Virginia released a statement in response to the filing of a lawsuit by the legal arm of the Family Foundation, which seeks to challenge Virginia’s law banning the debunked and harmful practice of so-called “conversion therapy.”
Virginia banned conversion therapy in 2020 by passing H.B. 386, introduced by Del. Patrick Hope. Its companion bill in the Senate, H.B. 245, was introduced by Scott Surrovel. The bills passed through both chambers with bipartisan support.
“The Family Foundation is a consistently anti-LGBTQ+ group that is constantly seeking new avenues to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people and roll back our hard-won rights, and this lawsuit is nothing more than their latest attempt,” said Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia.
“Conversion therapy is harmful, has been thoroughly debunked as effective, has been disavowed by every major medical association in America and is banned in at least 26 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico. Once again, anti-LGBTQ+ forces are just trying to find new ways to advance their failing cause.
To the LGBTQ+ youth in Virginia and around the country who have been subjected to this dangerous practice: We will not stop fighting for you. You are worthy of love, support and access to affirming therapy.”
Peer-reviewed research published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2020 found that youth subjected to conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide in the past year than youth who were not. Conversion therapy has been denounced by every major medical and mental health association in America, including the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the American Medical Association (AMA).
Find out more at Equality Virginia.
