Mike Pence’s home state seeks to be the next to ban so-called “conversion therapy”

Former Indiana Gov. and Vice President Mike Pence has voiced support for conversion therapy in the past.
Photo: Gage Skidmore – Wikimedia Commons

Lawmakers in Indiana are considering a ban on “conversion therapy,” or any practice that purports to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Senate Bill 32 and House Bill 1213, if passed, would “make anti-LGBTQ practices illegal” and “penalize businesses and Hoosiers who participate in [the] debunked conspiracy theory,” the Stonewall Democrats announced today.

Related: Donald Trump names owner of conversion therapy practice to disabilities advisory post

The measures were introduced by out state senator J.D. Ford (D) and state Rep. Sue Errington (D) respectively. Similar bills were proposed in 2019, but did not receive full consideration by either legislative body at the time.

According to GLAAD, LGBTQ people who are subjected to “therapy” practices are eight times more likely to report that they contemplated suicide. LGBTQ people subjected to the practices are also nearly six times more likely to be severely depressed.

By law, so-called “conversion therapy” is already banned from practice on minors in 20 states, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Three others — Georgia, Florida, and Alabama — are…

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