Mexico City Bans Anti-LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy
The life-threatening practice is restricted in several states in the U.S.
On July 24, the majority of Mexico City‘s regional congress voted to criminalize conversion therapy, a harmful practice that aims to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity via practices ranging from shock therapy to psychoanalysis.
It’s currently unclear whether Mexico City’s new ruling bans conversion therapy for minors as well as individuals over the age of 18. Several states in the U.S. have restricted the practice, but only from being performed on LGBTQ+ minors. Experts across a range of medical associations have denounced conversion therapy as unethical and potentially life-threatening, as efforts to change sexual orientation are linked to suicidal thoughts and substance abuse.
Earlier in July, Instagram banned all content promoting conversion therapy and in London, celebrities signed an open letter urging leaders to prohibit the practice in the UK.
