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After years of attempts to pass legislation banning conversion therapy in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to limit conversion therapy practices on minors.
“I have refused to wait when others won't do what's right,” Beshear said, referencing some of his other recent executive orders, like the CROWN Act. “Where practices are endangering and even harming those children, we must act. The practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ hurts our children, and it's something that I've spoken out against time and time again.”
Conversion therapy, sometimes called “reparative therapy,” refers to treatments that seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It is often based on religious ideology that being LGBTQ+ is unnatural.
The executive order prohibits the use of state or federal dollars directly or indirectly to pay for conversion therapy, although Beshear said he doesn’t believe that is currently happening. It encourages independent medical licensure boards to reconsider licenses or punish professionals engaging in conversion therapy. The order also requires all state agencies to report providers who they discover to be engaging in conversion therapy to those licensing boards.
The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, found that Kentucky has the 12th highest number of conversion therapy practitioners, although it found few to be licensed in the state. A 2023 Trevor Project national survey found that 15% of LGBTQ+ youth reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy.
Most medical organizations say conversion therapy is linked to depression and anxiety, which can lead to suicidality. The American Psychiatric Association said in a policy document this year that “leading professional health care bodies have concluded that conversion therapies lack efficacy and may carry significant risks of harm.”
Brandon Long, who is running for state representative in Campbell County, said he is a survivor of conversion therapy that he began at 17 years old.
“It is nothing but deadly and bad fruit, these conversion therapy practices,” Long said. “The essence of conversion therapy is the belief that something is wrong with you and we have to determine the cause.”
He said over his life, various practitioners and church leaders have blamed his identity on demons or past trauma.
“The truth is I am made in the image of God. LGBTQ people are made in the image of God, just like heterosexual people are,” Long said.
Republican Rep. Josh Calloway from Irvington already came out in firm opposition to the order, calling it an overreach and unconstitutional. Calloway said the fact that legislation has failed to progress in the statehouse is a sign it is unwanted in Kentucky. While Calloway said he agrees conversion therapy should have guardrails, he did not believe it should be altogether demonized as a treatment.
“Some of the stories that these young people have talked about that they went through is evil,” Calloway said. “But there could be a kid that wants out of that lifestyle. Could be a kid who’s just confused about who and what they are.”
Calloway said he is considering his legal options to fight the order and “will file legislation on day one” to circumvent the governor’s order.
A group of 14 state Senate lawmakers, including Senate President Robert Stivers and Majority Whip Mike Wilson, made a joint statement condemning the executive order, saying it ignores the separation of power by encroaching on the legislature's authority.
They also said it violates parental rights and freedom of religion, putting health care providers “at risk, and children will be left without needed mental health care.”
The executive directors of the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition, the Kentucky Psychological Association and the Kentucky branch of the National Association of Social Workers all spoke in support of the executive order, emphasizing the need for affirming and supporting care.
Chris Hartman of the Fairness Campaign, which advocates for policies banning anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, said the order sends a message to LGBTQ+ kids in Kentucky that “you are perfect as you are.”
“It's a debunked medical practice, not just snake oil, but snake venom that every major medical and education association strongly opposes on minors,” Hartman said. “It lacks scientific credibility.”
Louisville Democratic Rep. Lisa Willner, who has worked on legislation to ban the practice for six legislative sessions, said in an emailed statement that she felt “such relief” over the executive order to discourage conversion therapy, which she said is a “discredited and too-often deadly practice.”
“This is a great step forward for the safety and mental health of so many young Kentuckians,” Willner said in a statement. “And while I wish we hadn’t had to wait so long, I’ll just say how appropriate it was for today’s event to coincide with National Suicide Prevention Month!”
Beshear said he still hoped for legislation on the matter. Previous attempts to ban conversion therapy introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly would have gone further than the order did, requiring discipline by the State Board of Medical Licensure and another would have opened licensed or certified psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers or counselors to civil penalties for engaging in the practice.
Conversion therapy has been banned to some extent in 22 states and Washington D.C., according to Born Perfect, a project that aims to outlaw the practice nationwide.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
This story has been updated to include additional information.
