The campaign against the Labour Government’s “full, trans inclusive ban on conversion practices” is gathering momentum.
A cross-party group of MPs and peers as well as psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors and consultants has written to the Prime Minister to express their “grave concerns” about his proposals. The letter, arranged by campaigner James Esses, warns that such legislation also risks criminalising therapists who do not “unconditionally affirm” a child’s desire to transition (Parliament News).
A prohibition on conversion therapy, which seeks to suppress or change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, was first proposed by the previous Conservative government, but was never implemented because of concerns that parents, teachers and therapists could be criminalised for questioning a child’s belief that they were born in the wrong body.
Labour has now resurrected these plans, with the Government earlier this month launching a new Office for Equality and Opportunity, stating that one of its “key immediate priorities” will be “delivering a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”.
But the letter’s 140 signatories – which include FSU General Secretary Toby Young, Labour MP Graham Stringer, and Dr David Bell, the Tavistock Centre whistleblower – warn that if such a ban goes ahead, a “slippery slope towards criminalising parents awaits us”.
The risk is that a poorly worded bill in which terms like ‘conversion practices’ are defined in imprecise ways risks catching a wide range of conduct, effectively criminalising doctors, parents and teachers who try to discourage gender-confused adolescents from embarking on irreversible medical pathways on the grounds that such conversations are an attempt to ‘convert’ them from being transgender to cisgender.
Even a carefully drafted bill that didn’t catch this type of conduct would be in danger of being amended by members of the LGBT+ lobby as it made its way through Parliament.
That’s why the FSU has been lobbying against a conversion therapy ban and urging Parliamentarians to consider the unintended consequences for freedom of speech if a bill of this nature is brought forward.
We strongly urge you to voice your opposition to the new Office for Equality and Opportunity’s plan to push forward with its “full, trans inclusive ban on conversion practices” by writing to your local MP.
Please take a few minutes to fill out this template email. It’s a simple, fast process that can have a significant impact. Feel free to personalise it with your concerns.
