Governor Mills this morning signed a bill into law that bans conversion therapy for minors.

It would prevent most licensed medical professionals from performing all forms of conversion therapy and only applies to minors.

Maine becomes the 17th state and the last New England state to ban conversion therapy.

Advocates say this is needed to protect LGBTQ young people from the practice.

Today at the State House Rep. Ryan Fecteau, (D) Biddeford, said, "We send a clear message to LGBTQ youth, here and across the country, that your legislators and your governor are on your side as well, and you can count on us."

The new law goes into effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns. </s> AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill Wednesday making Maine the 17th state to ban so-called “conversion therapy” that attempts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors.

Mills, a Democrat, signed the bill while surrounded by legislators, young people and advocates for Maine’s LGBTQ community who were involved in the multi-year effort to enact a ban on conversion therapy.

The bill, which was sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, would prohibit state-licensed counselors, psychologists, social workers, health professionals, guidance counselors as well as pastoral and family therapists from engaging in conversion therapy.

The new law defines conversion therapy as “any practice or treatment that seeks or claims to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including, but not limited to, any effort to change gender expression or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions, feelings or behavior toward others based on the individual’s gender.”

It would not prohibit treatment for individuals undergoing gender transition, counseling that seeks to prevent unsafe sexual practices or any “neutral” talk therapy intended to help a minor cope with issues.

A similar bill passed the Legislature last year only to be vetoed by former Republican Gov. Paul LePage.

“Conversion therapy is a harmful, widely-discredited practice that has no place in Maine,” Mills said in a statement. “By signing this bill into law today, we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people in Maine and across the country: we stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are.”

The practice is now banned in every New England state plus 11 other states and the District of Columbia. </s> Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) has signed legislation to ban the practice of gay conversion therapy on minors.

“Today I signed into law a bill banning conversion therapy, a widely-discredited practice that has no place in Maine,” Mills announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

“Today, we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people: we stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are,” she continued.

Today I signed into law a bill banning conversion therapy, a widely-discredited practice that has no place in Maine. Today, we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people: we stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are. pic.twitter.com/heInzibvFJ — Governor Janet Mills (@GovJanetMills) May 29, 2019

The bill prohibits the “advertising, offering and administering of therapy designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, also known as conversion therapy, to individuals under 18 years of age” in the state.

The practice of conversion therapy has long been condemned by medical and mental health professionals as ineffective. It is believed to be capable of causing severe psychological harm to individuals.

The legislation also states in its findings that the practice “is based on the false premise that being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is a mental illness or disorder and is caused by a developmental deficiency, trauma, abuse or unmet emotional needs and that conversion therapy can alter a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.”

According to a local NBC station, Mills’s signature makes Maine the 17th state in the country to outlaw conversion therapy. A number of states have passed similar bans in recent months, including Delaware and California. </s> AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine banned gay conversion therapy for minors on Wednesday, joining more than a dozen other states that have outlawed the controversial practice.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed the bill Wednesday, and it will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns next month.

Conversion therapy aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the new law, professionals, including school psychologists, pharmacy technicians and social workers, who have advertised, offered or administered conversion therapy to a child could face discipline from licensing boards.

Maine joins 16 other states and the District of Columbia that have banned the practice. Supporters decry it as a harmful and note the American Psychological Association opposes the therapy.

"Conversion therapy is a harmful, widely discredited practice that has no place in Maine," Mills said. "By signing this bill into law today, we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people in Maine and across the country: We stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are."

A law against conversion therapy was signed recently in Massachusetts, while states including North Carolina are considering such legislation this year.

"With this law, Maine is taking seriously its responsibility to ensure youth and parents who seek support are not subjected to fraudulent and dangerous practices under the guise of therapy," said Mary Bonauto, the Civil Rights Project director for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.

Maine's former Republican governor vetoed a similar measure last year, but the bill has gained momentum this year under a Democratic-led Legislature. Republicans argued that the bill was unnecessary, while also contending that it would prevent parents from seeking religious counselors for their children.

"There have not been any recorded cases of this happening in Maine," said state House Republicans spokesman John Bott.

Republicans failed to pass an amendment to exclude talk therapy and counseling from counting as conversion therapy.

Maine's law exempts treatment that offers acceptance, support and understanding while being neutral on sexual orientation and gender identity. </s> Conversion therapy will be banned in Maine.

Governor Mills will sign the bill into law today.

Conversion therapy is the practice used to convert gay people to heterosexuality through psychological or spiritual intervention.

The legislation prohibits licensed medical and mental health practitioners from trying to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity. </s> With her action on Wednesday, Maine joins 16 states that have banned the practice, which aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Mills said that the law sends "an unequivocal message" to the LGBTQ community that "we stand with you, we support you and we will always defend your right to be who you are."

She called conversion therapy "a harmful, widely discredited practice that has no place in Maine."

Maine's former Republican governor vetoed a similar measure last year, but the bill has gained momentum this year under a Democratic-led Legislature. </s> LONDON -- The British government says it will ban gay conversion therapy as part of 4.5-million-pound ($5.9 million) effort to make society more inclusive for LGBT people. The initiative comes after the government released the results of a survey of 108,000 LGBT people, which found that 5 percent had been offered conversion therapies. The government says it will "eradicate the abhorrent practice."

The survey also found that LGBT people experience prejudice daily, with more than two in three saying they avoid holding hands with a same-sex partner in public for fear of a negative reaction.

Prime Minister Theresa May says, "no one should ever have to hide who they are or who they love."

The government's 75-point plan includes appointment of a national LGBT health adviser to improve care for the community.

According to CBS News partner network BBC News, the government will, "consider all legislative and non-legislative options to prohibit promoting, offering or conducting conversion therapy."

In the U.S., a growing number of states and municipalities are also banning gay conversion therapies. Maryland was the latest to make such a move, with Gov. Larry Hogan signing a bill into law in May to prohibit health professionals from using the practice on minors. Maryland was the 11th state to enact legislation against the practice.

Supporters of bans note that gay conversion therapy has been widely discredited by U.S. medical and mental health associations, and say barring it helps protect youths from depression, anxiety and potential suicide by preventing them from being forced into such treatment. </s> After a survey of LGBT people in Britain found that approximately 2% of the 108,000 participants had undergone the harmful and discredited practice of conversion therapy , the results shed light on the discrimination and stresses that people in the LGBT community experience daily. That's why the country is taking steps to make life better for LGBT people, including moving toward a ban on conversion therapy.

Of the survey respondents, approximately 61% identified as gay or lesbian while about 26% of participants identified as bisexual, and 4% identified as pansexual. Results found that 68% of people in the U.K. with a “minority sexual orientation” said they have avoided holding hands in public with a same-sex partner, and 70% said they have hid their sexual orientation out of fear of negative reactions. The findings also show that 26% of respondents answered that they had experienced verbal harassment or abuse in the year preceding the survey, with many adding that they did not report serious incidents to the police.

Penny Mordaunt, the U.K's. minister for women and equalities, penned an article in which she said that the government “will introduce mandatory relationships education in primary schools and relationships and sex education in secondary schools” as well as extend programs that “tackle homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying in schools.” Prime Minister Theresa May released a statement in which she said she was "struck by just how many respondents said they cannot be open about their sexual orientation or avoid holding hands with their partner in public for fear of a negative reaction.” The study was conducted online in 2017, from July to October, and was the largest ever conducted of its kind.

The government subsequently released a 75-point LGBT action plan , and announced that the U.K. would be appointing an LGBT health adviser as part of the plan. In addition, the nation will be taking steps to put an end to conversion therapy practices in the U.K., according to the official action plan. Other pledges in the action plan include the promise to improve police response to LGBT hate crimes, and provide more governmental support for students and teachers in the LGBT community.

After the release of the action plan, journalist Patrick Strudwick wrote a Twitter thread about his extensive experiences with going undercover to expose conversion-therapy practices in the U.K. According to the Human Rights Campaign, conversion therapy is "a range of dangerous and discredited practices that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression." In the last tweet in his thread, Strudwick said, “The government needs to understand the scale of conversion therapy. It isn’t just restricted to therapists, it infects a range of religious organisations, often in private. In the end, the very idea needs to be attacked. Love needs no cure.”

In the United States, a rising number of states and municipalities have moved to ban conversion therapy, with Maryland recently becoming the 11th state to enact legislation against the practice for LGBTQ youth. And California is moving to become the first state to completely ban the practice for both children as well as adults. However, there has been no federal government action to nationally ban conversion therapy in the U.S.

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Let us slide into your DMs. Sign up for the Teen Vogue daily email .

Get the Teen Vogue Take. Sign up for the Teen Vogue weekly email . </s> The Church of England has voiced its support for the United Kingdom's plan to ban "conversion therapy," while other Christian groups have warned of the free speech implications of such restrictions.

On Tuesday, the U.K. government rolled out its 75-point LGBT Action Plan to better fight discrimination against the LGBT community and improve the lives of LGBT persons.

Among many other things, the plan would compel the government to "consider all legislative and non-legislative options to prohibit promoting, offering or conducting conversion therapy."

In a statement released Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Church of England praised the action plan, specifically singling out the call to ban conversion therapy.

"We warmly welcome the government commitment to eradicate gay conversion therapy in this country," the statement reads.

The action plan comes as the Church of England pressed the government last year to outlaw conversion therapy and after ministers met with Church Estates Commissioner Dame Caroline Spelman about the issue.

Last summer, the Church of England Synod approved a motion condemning conversion therapy, saying it has "no place in the modern world."

Other Christian groups, however, have voiced their concerns about the plan, saying that it could end up preventing people with unwanted same-sex attractions from receiving the therapy and counseling they desire.

The LGBT Action Plan coincides with the release of an extensive 108,000-person National LGBT Survey conducted by the U.K. government which found that 2 percent of same-sex attracted people surveyed received some form of "conversion or reparative therapy in an attempt to 'cure' them of being LGBT." Five percent said they had been offered such therapy.

"Restricting therapy would violate freedom of speech of both clients and therapists, as well as third parties such as supervisors of therapists," the U.K.-based group Christian Concern argued in a statement. "A situation would arise whereby a state had prohibited free speech on human sexuality, behavior and feelings in private and confidential conversations as well as public settings, essentially because LGBT activists consider the words that might be said to be offensive."

Daniel Mattson, the author of the memoir Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace, told Catholic News Agency that banning conversion therapy would "interfere in the rights of parents and children to determine their own choice of action in the name of supposedly protecting people from harm."

Mattson, a Catholic, admits that there have been "extreme measures" in conversion therapy in the past that have been negative for the mental health of other same-sex attracted individuals. He assured that the goal of conversion therapy shouldn't be to change one's sexual orientation but to help them respond to their attractions with "chastity" and virtue.

"This is a question where parents want their son or daughter to know what it means to be fully comfortable in their own sexual identity as a man or women," he told the news agency. "What the Church is doing is calling men and women and teenagers to live out the Church's teaching on chastity and the virtues, and our young people need to have the right to be able to have therapy that might help them with that."

Christian Concern pointed out that many people choose to seek therapy for "reasons of their own conscience" and religious and non-religious counselors are willing to provide the therapy they are seeking.

Core Issues Trust, a Christian group based in Northern Ireland that offers counseling services, said in a statement Tuesday that it would support government regulation of conversion therapy but not a ban on the practice.

"The Trust supports the rights of autonomous individuals to take the pathways that reflect their goals and values, including LGBTI dignity," The Trust stated. "It supports regulation of sexual attraction fluidity exploration therapy where the dangers of viewpoint discrimination have been removed by fair representation on decision-making bodies."

The Church of England also said in its statement that it would "welcome the recognition that any steps take [by the government] should not have the unintended consequence of preventing people seeking spiritual support from their faith leader in the exploration of their sexual orientation or gender identity."
Maine becomes the 17th U.S. state to ban conversion therapy for minors.