The governor of Kentucky signed an executive order Sept. 18 that forbids conversion therapy for minors — a sly political act that threatens children, parental rights, and religious freedom.
“Kentucky cannot possibly reach its full potential unless it is free from discrimination by or against any citizen — unless all our people feel welcome in our spaces, free from unjust barriers and supported to be themselves,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement.
Kentucky joined 23 other states and the District of Columbia in banning this type of therapy for minors, according to a report from WORLD Magazine.
“‘Conversion therapy’ means any practice, treatment, or intervention that seeks or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender,” the order reads.
This does not include any therapy that supports “identity exploration and development,” any practice that is neutral toward sexual orientation to prevent “unsafe practices,” or any treatment that assists an individual to undergo a transition, according to the order.
Beshear’s new policy, while claiming to reduce harm, is itself harmful to children, parents, and Christian therapists.
This definition of conversion therapy claims that counseling a patient to maintain his sex at birth is harmful. It is intentionally confusing because nothing is “converting” — this kind of therapy merely encourages a unity of physical and mental health without a biological transition. “Conversion therapy,” under the governor’s definition, is not the actual biological conversion, otherwise known as transition, of an individual’s sexuality. This practice, Beshear celebrates and defends. While terminologically confusing, Beshear’s definition of “conversion therapy” is important to understand the significance of his executive order.
“Conversion therapy has no basis in medicine or science, and it can cause significant long-term harm to our kids, including increased rates of suicide and depression,” Beshear said in a statement. “This is about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that hurts them.”
What Beshear terms an “inhumane practice” is in fact more commonly called counseling, a compassionate, humane, and beneficial practice. Beshear is banning children from talking with counselors — who would oppose transition surgeries — about real identity crises and sexual questions. He claims this counseling would cause “long-term harm” while the surgeries he defends cause irreversible physical alterations.
Are counseling sessions really more inhumane than genital mutilation and lifelong sterility?
In an interview with WORLD Magazine last month, Richard Nelson of the Commonwealth Policy Center said he disagrees with Beshear but is opposed to physically abusive and shame-based counseling.
“The governor is essentially saying that anybody who tries to help a minor identify with their born gender— their heterosexual identity— that they are wrong. And that’s a problem,” Nelson said.
Not only does the governor’s order harm children, it also opposes parent rights. Under these guidelines, parents cannot take their struggling child to see a Christian therapist or even a more conservative counselor whose first option is not surgery.
The order applies to all counselors licensed in the state of Kentucky and prohibits federal funding to any organization that refuses to comply. This means that nearly any Christian organization must either violate its moral conscience or lose federal funding. The order also forbids companies from recommending a Christian organization, even if the company itself doesn’t facilitate the counseling. This is a direct attack on religious freedom because the order discriminates against Christian morality. Furthermore, it requires Christian companies to practice immorality.
Beshear defended himself in an interview with WORLD, saying he is Christian.
“My faith tells me that I’m supposed to love everyone, everyone,” Beshear said. “And that means everyone, regardless of their sexuality.”
But his order opposes fundamental Christian beliefs in promoting a kind of sexual immorality clearly forbidden in the Bible. Instead, Beshear praises sexual transition and discriminates against Christian counseling.
“This order, like previous failed legislative efforts, is designed to promote false LGBTQ ideologies and muzzle Christian counselors, therapists, and pastors from helping children struggling with sexual orientation or gender identity confusion,” David Walls, executive of the Family Foundation, said in a statement.
“Kentucky parents and their children should be free to seek the faith-based counseling on sexuality and identity issues that they need. The Christian message on sexuality and human dignity is not harmful, it is life-bringing,” Daily Wire reported.
Beshear’s executive order alone manipulates the proper governmental process by trying to avoid legislative objections.
Kentucky Republican state representative Shane Baker said in an interview with WORLD Magazine that Beshear signed the order because the Kentucky General Assembly repeatedly voted down similar bans in prior legislation.
“The legislature is elected to write law. The governor is not,” Baker said. “He is to execute the law that’s written by the legislature, the people’s body. And he’s overstepped his constitutional authority in what he’s done in this executive order, and yes, we will fight it.”
Not only does this ban violate children’s, parents’, and Christians’ rights, but it attempts to dodge the legislative process. Beshear’s executive order must be repealed to preserve religious freedom and parental rights and to protect children.
