‘Protecting our youth’: Gov. Beshear signs order banning conversion therapy in Kentucky

Kentucky’s governor signed an executive order Wednesday that he says will ban a controversial therapy practice that has been discredited by nearly all major medical associations.

“The practice of so-called conversion therapy hurts our children. It has no basis in medicine, it has no basis in science,” Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said in the Capitol rotunda, joined by LGBTQ allies.

“We cannot sit back and do nothing,” he added.

Beshear said his order is “about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that hurts them.”

The order, which takes effect immediately, will prohibit the use of state and federal dollars to pay for conversion therapy. Kentucky joins at least 23 other states and the District of Columbia in restricting or banning the practice.

It does not amount to a total ban on private practice of conversion therapy, though it encourages certain professional boards to penalize or ban it.

Aside from banning the use of federal or state dollars for the practice, the executive order also does the following:

▪ State agencies are required to report any licensed providers engaging in conversion therapy on minors to the relevant professional board for potential disciplinary action.

▪ The Cabinet for Health and Family Services must update policies to prohibit the use of funds for conversion therapy and highlight its dangers

▪ Departments providing medical or mental health services should explore further steps to protect minors from conversion therapy.

▪ Professional boards and agencies not supervised by the Governor are encouraged to prohibit conversion therapy on minors and classify it as “unprofessional conduct.”

Conversion therapy is a discredited form of counseling that involves interventions attempting to change an individual’s sexual orientation, sexual behaviors or gender identity.

As the American Medical Association puts it, at the foundation of so-called conversion therapy — a practice that “often includes unethical techniques” — is the assumption that “homosexuality and gender non-conformity are mental disorders and that sexual orientation and gender identity can be changed.”

The AMA, which supports conversion therapy bans, added that these assumptions are “not based on medical or scientific evidence.”

Chris Hartman, executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign, thanked Beshear for his “bold and necessary action,” calling him “one of the most pro-fairness governors in Kentucky history.”

“Today we all join the governor to send a crystal clear message to all of Kentucky’s queer kids and their families: you are perfect as you are,” Hartman said.

The move from Beshear comes as legislative efforts to ban conversion therapy have floundered — with those efforts coming primarily from Democrats — and as GOP efforts to limit the rights of trans youth have ramped up.

In 2023, Republicans proposed a raft of anti-LGBTQ bills, including ban on gender-affirming health care for trans youth against the advice from Kentucky doctors who warned of the harm it would bring. That policy became law last summer.

Months later, during the 2023 race for the Kentucky governor’s mansion, then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron ran a gubernatorial campaign against Beshear that hinged largely on an anti-trans sentiment.

Meanwhile, Democrats in both chambers of the state legislature have continually filed bills that would put a statewide ban on conversion therapy in place. Democratic Rep. Lisa Willner, a psychologist in Louisville, has seen multiple bills on the issue garner attention but not enough traction to be passed.

Alice Forgy Kerr, a former Republican member of the state Senate from Lexington, repeatedly tried to pass a bill banning the practice when she served in the Senate up until 2022, but her proposals never gained significant traction.

On Wednesday, Willner praised Beshear’s order, saying, “after working on this bipartisan legislation for the past six sessions, and as the only licensed mental health professional in the Kentucky General Assembly, I’m feeling such relief that young Kentuckians will finally have protections in place from this discredited and too-often deadly practice.”

A handful of cities have already passed local ordinances to ban conversion therapy, including Lexington, which became the third city in Kentucky to ban the practice in 2021, following Covington and Louisville.

Rebecca Blankenship, executive director of Ban Conversion Therapy Kentucky, heralded Beshear’s to-come action, saying Tuesday night, “this is five years too late, but better late than never. Thank you to Gov. Beshear for taking steps to protect Kentucky kids.”

Though legislative proposals to ban the practice have included Republican sponsors, some in the GOP were quick to criticize Beshear for his order.

“Why is Gov. Beshear determined to keep vulnerable children confused?” Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, posted to X.

“I will fight this with every fiber of my being,” Calloway continued, vowing to, if reelected, “file legislation on day one to stop this governor from pushing his harmful far-left agenda on struggling kids.”

Calloway said he was also “exploring other legal options to stop this egregious overreach.”

Anticipating blowback like this from some Republicans, Beshear said he wanted to address “misinformation or re-casting that some may try after today.”

The order “does not force an ideology on anybody,” the governor said

“It does not expose anybody to anything in a library or school,” he said. “It simply stops a so-called therapy that the medical community says is wrong and hurts our children.”

Beshear has been calling on the legislature to pass its own measure to ban conversion therapy since at least 2020, when he became the first Kentucky governor to speak at a statewide LGBTQ rally. At that rally, he called on the legislature to pass a bill filed by then-Rep. Forgy Kerr to ban the controversial therapy practice.

Similarly, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman has become more vocal in her support of LGBTQ rights. She spoke at this year’s Pride event at the Louisville waterfront, and during the 2023 legislative session wherein Republicans passed a bill banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, Coleman slammed that policy, saying “shame on any adult that would use our kids as pawns in their political game.”

Beshear also criticized that policy, saying at the time, “We are sitting at a time of great promise in Kentucky, but Kentucky cannot reach its full potential unless all people feel free to be themselves.”