***The Iowa Standard is an independent media voice. We rely on the financial support of our readers to exist. Please consider a one-time sign of support or becoming a monthly supporter at $5, $10/month - whatever you think we're worth! If you’ve ever used the phrase “Fake News” — now YOU can actually DO something about it! You can also support us on PayPal at [email protected] or Venmo at Iowa-Standard-2018 or through the mail at: PO Box 112 Sioux Center, IA 51250

Disclaimer: Conversion therapy is the practice of attempting to change one’s perceived sexual orientation or gender identity to heterosexuality. It has nothing to do with the practice of actually changing one’s gender.

Canada passed a law that went into effect earlier this year banning conversion therapy. It describes a “myth” that heterosexuality and cisgender identity are preferable. The new law prohibits a practice, treatment or service designed to:

change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual;
change a person’s gender identity to cisgender;
change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth;
repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behavior;
repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or
repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.

The law “protects” both adults and minors. A conservative member of Parliament said there were repeated requests to include in the legislation that conversations with a religious leader, counselor or parent continued to be protected and possible.

“Sadly, these requests were not considered,” said Ted Falk.

In America, 20 states as well as Washington D.C. have approved laws banning conversion therapy.

In 2020, Iowa House Republicans held a subcommittee hearing on a bill that would have banned conversion therapy in the Hawkeye State.

House Study Bill 698 was introduced by Republican State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann. The bill would have prohibited a health care professional from providing conversion therapy to a minor. The ban would have included talk therapy with a licensed health care provider.

However, there were protections in that bill for celery members or religious counselors acting “substantially in a pastoral or religious capacity and not in the capacity of a health care professional.” It also provided protection to parents and grandparents not in the capacity of a health care professional.

That proposed law did not advance, but Republican State Rep. Joe Mitchell said during subcommittee he thinks LGBTQ issues “should be bipartisan.”

“Obviously there’s work to do,” Mitchell said. “I just think it’s important we’re recognizing the bipartisan manner and how we should act dealing with these issues.”

Kaufmann, who joined Republican State Sen. Chris Cournoyer to speak at a fundraiser to ban conversion therapy hosted by GLBT Youth In Iowa Schools Task Force (“Iowa Safe Schools”), pledged to publicly continue to work on the issue at the subcommittee.

Matt Walsh, a conservative social media personality, noted Canada’s law subjects someone guilty of “conversion therapy” to five years in prison. That means counseling your biological son to accept his male identity would be punishable.

“Also, it is expressly not a crime to change a child’s orientation from straight to gay,” Walsh wrote. “It’s only a crime if the orientation goes from gay to straight. It’s also not a crime to foist transgenderism on a child. The crime only applies the other way around.”

THE IOWA STANDARD’S TAKE:

It is crazy to believe the same people demanding LGBTQ materials be used in school curriculum at every grade in every subject are also demanding it be illegal for confused kids to be able to talk to a licensed health care professional about the confusion those materials cause is unconscionable.

If a parent wants to take their child to speak to a licensed health care professional about sexual orientation or gender identity, why on Earth should that be illegal?

I thought Democrats believed we can’t come between a “patient and a doctor.” And that we can’t instruct doctors on what they “can and cannot say.”

You know, all those pro-abortion arguments they like to use.

But just like “my body, my choice” only applies to Democrats when an unborn baby is being killed, it appears they only want the government interfering in patient-doctor conversations that go against their agenda.

Author: Jacob Hall

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here