The UK government is expected to
introduce an “ex-gay” therapy ban bill that includes gender
identity.
Also known as “conversion therapy,”
“reparative therapy,” and “sexual orientation change efforts,”
such therapies attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender
identity of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson
last year dropped plans for such a ban, then announced a ban that
would exclude people who identify as transgender. Johnson's sudden
ouster left the proposal in limbo.
In a statement released Tuesday, MP
Michelle Donelan announced that a bill that will “protect everyone”
will be introduced “shortly.”
“It is right that this issue is
tackled through a dedicated and tailored legislative approach, which
is why we are announcing today that the government will publish a
draft bill which will set out a proposed approach to ban conversion
practices, this will apply to England and Wales,” she wrote. “The
bill will protect everyone, including those targeted on the basis of
their sexuality, or being transgender.”
“The government will publish the
draft bill shortly and will ask for pre-legislative scrutiny by a
joint committee in this parliamentary session.”
“The legislation must not, through a
lack of clarity, harm the growing number of children and young adults
experiencing gender-related distress, through inadvertently
criminalizing or chilling legitimate conversations parents or
clinicians may have with their children,” Donelan added.
Such a bill was first promised in 2018
under the leadership of former Prime Minister Theresa May.