HIGHLAND PARK, MI -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and LGBTQ rights advocates said a new executive order blocking government funding for conversion therapy on minors is a first step toward outlawing the practices in Michigan.
The governor said tax dollars should not go toward “dangerous and discredited” practices during a Monday press conference at the Ruth Ellis Center, a social service agency for LGBTQ youth. Whitmer also endorsed two bills seeking to prohibit mental health professionals from engaging minors in conversion therapy, described as any treatment that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Conversion therapy is opposed by medical experts, is rooted in bigotry and it can have long-term harmful effects,” Whitmer said.
The new executive order, effective immediately, prohibits the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services from using state or federal funds for conversion therapy on minors. This includes funding related to Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, child welfare services and juvenile justice programs.
The order also requires all state departments and agencies to explore further actions to ”protect minors from the practice of conversion therapy as permitted by law.” Monday’s event took place halfway through Pride Month, which was formally recognized by the Michigan Legislature for the first time this year.
“Pride is about action, and today we are taking action to bend the arc of history toward justice and equity for all,” Whitmer said.
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said the executive order is aimed at protecting minors who can experience lowered self-esteem, dysphoria, feelings of isolation and an increased risk of suicidal behavior as a result of conversion therapy. Gilchrist said young people should be made to feel comfortable with themselves instead of viewing their sexual orientation or gender identity as a disease that needs fixing.
“Conversion therapy is wrong, period,” Gilchrist said. “Today we are cutting off resources for this horrific and disgusting practice.”
Whitmer cited a 2020 study from The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention group, that found LGBTQ youth who were subjected to conversion therapy reported more than double the rate of attempting suicide.
In a 2021 survey, The Trevor Project found 13% of all LGBTQ youth were subjected to conversion therapy. Transgender and nonbinary people were twice as likely to experience the practices.
Equality Michigan Executive Director Erin Knott said “extreme practices” using electro-shock therapy, surgery and chemical drugs are becoming less common, but all forms of conversion therapy are harmful.
“No child should be subjected to the abusive practice known as the junk science of conversion therapy, which sends the harmful message that there is something wrong with who you are when in fact we are all born perfect,” Knott said.
Dr. Maureen Connoly, a Detroit pediatrician and medical director with Henry Ford Health System, said conversion therapy has been rightly denounced by national organizations representing medical professionals, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The American Psychiatric Association has not treated homosexuality as a mental illness since 1973.
Connoly said she’s seen first-hand how young people are harmed by the concept that a person can change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Every day, I see young people thrive when they are able to be themselves and when their identifies are supported,” Connoly said. “The problem is not who these people are or who they love, it is how the adults in their life choose to either accept or reject them.”
Jey’nce Poindexter, a case worker at the Ruth Ellis Center and vice president of the Trans Sisters of Color Project, said conversion therapy methods can have a disastrous impact on a young person’s feelings of self-worth despite being presented as a positive tool.
Gilchrist said the Whitmer administration is committed to being on the “right side” of history and helping Michigan residents fulfill their potential.
“We also need to create the conditions for people to be successful,” Gilchrist said. “I would argue it’s difficult to be successful if you’re not allowed to be yourself.”
Whitmer said the executive order is just one step toward banning conversion therapy in Michigan.
Twenty states and a growing number of municipalities across the country have passed laws prohibiting conversion therapy. Whitmer and Gilchrist promoted legislation to outlaw the practices proposed by several Democratic lawmakers who attended the Monday event.
The proposed legislation would not affect counseling for those in the process of transitioning.
Whitmer also voiced support for efforts to expand the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act. Whitmer said amending the law to prevent discrimination based on someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity “is long overdue.”
Fair and Equal Michigan submitted petition signatures for a ballot initiative that would create legal protections for LGBTQ people. The question would go to voters in 2022 if enough signatures are deemed validated by the Board of State Canvassers.
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