| Dear Katy, Conversion therapy is a widely discredited practice – yet is still legal in 31 states.1 Conversion therapy is abuse. It is a dangerous practice that aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity by using emotionally and physically traumatic interventions to make victims associate their identity with shame. More than 700,000 LGBTQ people have reportedly been subjected to conversion therapy – and if we allow this practice to continue, an estimated 800,000 LGBTQ youth could fall victim to this fraudulent practice in the coming years.2 The House of Representatives must act now to protect LGBTQ people and youth and ban conversion therapy now. Tell the House of Representatives: Protect LGBTQ people and pass the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act. Click here to sign the petition. Every single leading professional medical and mental health association – including the American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and Pan American Health Organization – reject conversion therapy and strongly caution that the practice is illegitimate, unnecessary, ineffective and dangerous.3 Not only is it morally reprehensible to claim someone's sexual orientation or gender identity is a mental illness, there is also absolutely no medical foundation or evidence that even suggests conversion therapy works. Conversion therapy is dangerous and sometimes even fatal. The majority of victims of conversion therapy are minors who cannot make their own medical decisions and experience family rejection as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ youth who are rejected by their parents are eight times more likely to attempt suicide, five times more likely to report high levels of depression and three times more likely to use illegal drugs.4 The risks only increase for LGBTQ youth who have undergone conversion therapy. Conversion therapy has turned abuse into a multimillion-dollar scam to defraud and harm hundreds of thousands of families unsure of how to respond when their child comes out.5 The Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act is a step in the right direction to finally put an end to this practice. The bill would provide congressional recognition that being LGBTQ cannot be and does not need to be "cured." It would classify for-profit conversion therapy as fraud under the Federal Trade Commission Act and prohibit any advertising that claims conversion therapy can successfully change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Lives are at stake and LGBTQ people deserve legal protections from this prejudiced and harmful practice. Can you add your name today? Tell the House of Representatives: Protect the LGBTQ community and pass the End Therapeutic Fraud Act. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/end-conversion-therapy?t=9&akid=34548%2E12967895%2ESu3kuH Thanks for fighting back, Thaís Marques, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - Movement Advancement Project, "Conversion Therapy Laws,"accessed Oct. 17, 2019.
- The Trevor Project, "About Conversion Therapy," accessed Oct. 17, 2019.
- National Center for Lesbian Rights, "The Facts About Conversion Therapy," accessed Oct. 17, 2019.
- The Trevor Project, "About Conversion Therapy."
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