European Parliament condemns gay ‘cure’ therapy and tells EU member states to ban it

The European Parliament has overwhelmingly voted to condemn gay ‘cure’ therapy and urged member countries to ban the harmful practice.

The EU body voted by 435 to 109 to adopt text calling on member states to outlaw the discredited practice.

Experts overwhelmingly agree that attempts to cure sexuality are futile, misguided, and often extremely harmful. Attempts to force people to repress their sexuality have been linked to depression, self-harm and even suicide.

Performing gay cure therapy on minors is already is illegal in nine US states and counting, as well as Switzerland, Malta, Taiwan, two Canadian provinces, and the Australian state of Victoria.

The European Parliament added its voice to the issue today when it greenlit an amendment that disavows gay cure practices.

(Photo by Mark Renders/Getty Images)

It says: “[The European Parliament] welcomes initiatives prohibiting LGBTI conversion therapies and banning the pathologisation of trans identities and urges all Member States to adopt similar measures that respect and uphold the right to gender identity and gender expression”.

It is the first time the Parliament has made the specific disavowal of conversion therapies.

The vote came on an amendment to the Parliament’s annual report on the situation of fundamental rights in the EU, which was later adopted.

The report also condemns discrimination against LGBT people, and  calls for “the inclusion in school curricula of education about the value of tolerance” to tackle anti-LGBT and other kinds of discrimination.