This story was first published at Colorado Newsline.
DENVER | Coloradans who have been harmed by the discredited psychological treatment known as “conversion therapy” can sue for damages through the state’s medical malpractice law under a bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Monday.
Polis also signed an executive order prohibiting state funds from being used to pay for the practice.
“People shouldn’t be ripped off by those falsely claiming that they can change who you are attracted to or who you are,” Polis said in a statement. “In our Colorado for all, everyone can live authentically, and should not be subject to hateful and simply ineffective conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is harmful, can traumatize kids, and is a scam to waste people’s hard-earned money.”
He signed the bill on the first day of Pride Month at The Center on Colfax, an LGBTQ community center and nonprofit in Denver.
Under the new law, people subjected to conversion therapy can bring a civil cause of action against a mental health professional who tried to change their sexual orientation or gender identity during treatment. Conversion therapy stems from the belief that being LGBTQ+ is a mental illness and can be cured with psychological intervention. It has been discredited by most medical organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association.
Experts say conversion therapy increases risk of depression, anxiety and suicide.
The law removes a two-year time restriction to bring claims, and it allows someone to file a claim on behalf of a deceased person within five years.
“This law is for all of the LGBTQ Coloradans who were told something about them that was wrong because of who they were or who they loved,” bill sponsor Rep. Alex Valdez, a Denver Democrat, said in a statement. “With the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, we are committed to offering survivors of this harmful practice the protections they deserve.”
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Colorado law banning conversion therapy in March. The 8-1 decision sided with a Christian counselor from Colorado Springs who argued that the law infringed on her right to free speech. Sponsors said the new law is a response to that ruling and allows people harmed by conversion therapy to seek justice. It passed along party-lines in the Legislature, with Democrats in favor of it.
The bill was also sponsored by Rep. Karen McCormick and Sens. Lisa Cutter and Kyle Mullica, all Democrats.
The executive order Polis signed directs state agencies to “take appropriate steps to ensure no state funds are allocated or spent by their respective agencies for sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts.”
“Governor Polis’s action today ensures that no state funding ever goes to the scam of conversion therapy,” spokesperson Eric Maruyama wrote in an email. “Following the SCOTUS ruling to overturn Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy, Governor Polis is taking action to ensure that Coloradans can be entirely confident that no state funding will go to this harmful and inhumane treatment.”