Peers warn against 'conversion therapy' law

Members of Parliament have spoken out strongly against a Bill that would outlaw 'conversion therapy'.

During a debate in the House of Lords, Peers cautioned that a Bill from Baroness Burt is "poorly written" and "dangerous".

During an impassioned debate, the House heard that the ill-defined proposal risks criminalising parents and Christian ministers.

State control

Conservative Peer Lord Frost argued that coercive and violent practices are already prosecuted by the law.

He added that Baroness Burt's, plans would “reinforce a tendency towards control that is already very evident in our society”.

“Free debate and discussion are vital if we are to find the right solutions” to societal problems, he added.

"Once we question this principle...we are changing the nature of society...we are asking the state to be our parent, to protect us from uncomfortable concepts and challenging ideas”.

Lord Frost warned that if the Bill passes, it would be a “step to creating a state ideology of approved and unapproved ideas”.

It would “make it illegal for religious leaders with their flock, parents with their children, psychologists or psychiatrists with their patients, to express some of their profoundest beliefs”, he said.

'Dangerous'

Lord Forsyth said that “in nearly 40 years in parliament” he had “never seen a more badly drafted or dangerous piece of legislation”.

The Conservative Peer cautioned that it would punish parents who do not support a "child's decision to dress as a member of the opposite sex" or who warn against taking puberty blockers.

Baroness Ludford, a Liberal Democrat Peer, said the Bill raises “difficult questions”. She added that a lack of proper definition means “interpretation is to be highly subjective", adding, "how can something be banned if it cannot be defined?”

Baroness Burt's Conversion Therapy Prohibition (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) Bill is at Committee Stage in the Lords.

Another Bill from Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle is due to have its second reading in the Commons on 1 March.