Kentucky Governor Bans Conversion Therapy for Minors

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has signed an executive order banning conversion therapy for minors, a practice aimed at changing an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Beshear's decision follows repeated failures to pass similar legislation in the Republican-dominated state legislature. Critics argue that the ban infringes on parental rights and religious freedoms, while supporters, including mental health professionals, hail it as a necessary measure to protect children from a practice linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. Conversion therapy is widely discredited and considered harmful by major medical organizations. The order also prohibits the use of state and federal funds for such therapy and calls for further protective measures by various state agencies. Kentucky joins over twenty other states in banning the practice.