New Mexico bans therapy for minors with unwanted gay attractions
New Mexico has become the sixth state to criminalize any professional counseling that helps minors overcome unwanted feelings of same-sex attraction . Republican Gov. Susana Martinez signed SB-121 into law on Friday. The law bans doctors, nurses, and licensed therapists from any attempt to talk to clients about recovering from gay temptation. It also prohibits any professional from helping a boy accept that he is a male or a girl accept that she is a female. The law, which was passed by the Democratic-led state legislature last month, defrocks any therapist who uses "discredited" methods. The legal presumption is that reparative therapy is a "discredited" approach to counseling minors suffering from unwanted homosexual thoughts. Gov. Martinez said she was acting in the best interests of children by signing the bill and cited the American Psychological Association ’s conclusion that same-sex attraction is not only normal, natural, and healthy, but any