Obama calls for end to conversion therapy for LGBT youth

US president Barack Obama has called for an end to psychiatric therapies that seek to change the sexual orientation of gay, lesbian and transgender youth.

The comment came in a White House statement written in response to a petition calling for Mr Obama to back a law to ban conversion therapy, which is supported by some socially conservative organisations and religious doctors.

The petition was started following the suicide in December of 17-year-old transgender youth Leelah Alcorn, who died after her parents forced her to attend conversion therapy, pulled her out of school and isolated her in an attempt to change her gender identity.

"The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy, especially when it is practiced on young people, is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm," said Mr Obama's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

“As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors,” she added.

The petition said that on Sunday, December 27th last, Ms Alcorn wrote a suicide note, posted it on Tumblr and then walked in front of lorry.

The petition has received more than 120,000 signatures in three months.

Mr Obama began his political life opposed to same-sex marriage and accepting of limits on gay service in the military. But he now supports same-sex marriage and has sought greater equality of treatment for gays and lesbians in the government and the private workforce.

In his first term, he pushed the Pentagon to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that had kept gay service members from serving openly. On Wednesday, his top aides also heralded new protections for gay federal workers that went into effect this week.

Last summer, Mr Obama issued executive orders to ban discrimination on the basis of gender by federal contractors.

Therapists who advocate the use of the gender identity therapies promote them as a way of helping gay people change their sexual orientation. Those therapists reject claims that sexual orientation or identity is unchangeable, and argue that gay or transgender identities should be reversed so that people can embrace their “authentic” heterosexual selves.

The Narth Institute, an organisation that advocates reparative therapies, says on its website that "numerous examples exist of people who have successfully modified their sexual behavior, identity, and arousal or fantasies."

The fight against such therapies has become more urgent in recent years, as gay rights organisations have sought to discredit the practice. California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have banned therapists from offering the treatment to minors. Similar legislation was introduced in 18 states this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group that tracks legislation on the issue.

Reuters/New York Times