Argumentative Essay On Conversion Therapy

1178 Words5 Pages

Conversion Therapy Although many people have strong convictions against gay people, sometimes leading parents to attempt to change their children’s sexual orientation, it should be banned on a national level for parents to be able to force their children under the age of 18 into conversion therapy because it is unconstitutional, it evidently damages the child's wellbeing, and the methods have never even been proven by credible research. Members of the ex-gay (anti-LGBT) movement argue that banning reparative therapy is an infringement on the rights to freedom of speech and religion, while parents following this movement have similar feelings and believe that putting their child through conversion therapy will help them be ridded of an "unwanted …show more content…

Example (quote/evidence) Today, while some counselors still use physical treatments like aversive conditioning, the techniques most commonly used include a variety of behavioral, cognitive, psychoanalytic, and other practices that try to change or reduce same-sex attraction or alter a person’s gender identity. [nclrights.org] Aversive therapy is still used and is damaging, and the psychoanalytical methods though they may not be physically (evidently) damaging, they can have other effects below the surface that do just as much damage as something you might see on the outiside. Like... Example (quote/evidence) “The first step ― which usually lasted six months ― [is] where they “deconstruct us as a person.” Their tactics still haunt me. Aversion therapy, shock therapy, harassment and occasional physical abuse. Their goal was to get us to hate ourselves for being LGBTQ (most of us were gay, but the entire spectrum was represented), and they knew what they were doing....” [huffingtonpost.com]

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