Name: Katie Per: 3

Model Congress Bill Project

Issue Identification and Analysis

Overview
At the root of governing and political actions are important issues that are complex. Many are
problems that are challenging to resolve or topics that elicit strong opinions from stakeholders.
As part of our Model Congress simulation, you will choose an issue you care about, conduct
research about that issue, and then write a bill that you will introduce in our class legislature.

For this Issue Analysis task you will:

Identify and describe an important issue related to your bill project.
Select and evaluate reliable resources to learn more about the issue from multiple perspectives
(a minimum of THREE sources on the content of your bill is required; more are recommended).
Provide a detailed description of the problem including the causes, effects, and significance of
this issue based on your research.

I. Preliminary Identification and Description of an Issue

Describe in as much detail as you can, the problem/issue, its causes and effects, and
importance.
Conversion or reparative therapy is trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender
identity to heterosexual or cisgender usually because of the false belief that any other sexual
orientation or gender identity is unnatural. It generally targets LGBTQ+ youth (13-17). (Christy
Mallory, Taylor N.T. Brown, and Kerith J. Conron, Williams Institute of Law) Conversion therapy
is based on the untrue idea that being LGBTQ+ is a mental illness. The American Psychiatric
Association determined that homosexuality is not a disease 47 years ago in 1973. (The Trevor
Project) People aren’t born with control over their sexual orientation and gender identity. (Tim
Fitzsimons NBC News)
There is no reason for conversion therapy to continue because being LGBTQ+ is natural and
not a mental or developemental disorder.
In 2007 the American Psychiatric Association reviewed research on the effectiveness of
conversion therapy. They realized that there was little to none sound research on sexual
orientation change efforts, and that it is highly unlikely that it is possible to reduce same-sex
attractions or increase other-sex attractions. (Human Rights Campaign) No credible scientific
study has ever supported the claims that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual
orientaiton. (The Trevor Project) In a 2014 national poll only 8% of people thought that
conversion therapy could change someone’s sexaul orientation. (Christy Mallory, Taylor N.T.
Brown, and Kerith J. Conron, Williams Institute of Law) Not only is conversion therapy
unnecessary, it also isn’t able to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Talk therapy is most commonly used to try to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender
identity, but many places also use aversion treatments or satiation therapies that include:
inducing nausea, vomiting, paralysis, or using electric shock, food and water deprivation, and
hypnosis. (Christy Mallory, Taylor N.T. Brown, and Kerith J. Conron, Williams Institute of Law)
“Conversion therapists use a variety of shaming, emotionally traumatic or physically painful
stimuli to make their victims associate those stimuli with their LGBTQ+ identities.” Conversion
therapy also increases the shame than many LGBTQ+ youth experience.(The Trevor
Project)Many cases of conversion therapy bear a strong resemblance to internationally
recognize forms of torture. (Irct)
Conversion therapy is an unnecessary, ineffective, practice that bears a strong resemblance to
torture.
Being LGBTQ+ is not a disorder, and thus treatment by a health professional for it is unethical.
The Pan American Health Organization (an office of WHO) stated that “it lack[s] medical
justification and represent[s] a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people.”
(Christy Mallory, Taylor N.T. Brown, and Kerith J. Conron, Williams Institute of Law) The
International Rehabilitation Council and Independent Expert Forensic Group for Torture Victims
states that conversion therapy:“Violates the basic human rights of individuals and the standards
and ethics of the medical and mental health professions, with no medical or scientific validity.
The act of conversion therapy is cruel, inhuman and degrading, and in many cases, torture and
should be made illegal in all countries.” (Irct)When children are sent to conversion therapy by
their families they feel rejected and as though they are a dissappointment. The International
Rehabilitation Council and Independant Expert Forensic Group for torture victims concludes that
conversion therapy is unscientific, and violates the global ban on torture and ill treatment;
because of this it calls for an international ban. Conversion therapy is a cruel, unnecessary, and
unethical practice that our youth are subjucted to.
A study done by San Francisco State University concluded that LGB youth who were rejected
by their families due to their identity compared to those who were accepted were six times more
likely to have serious depression, and more than eight times likely to attempt suicide.The
American Psychiatric Association has said that “ The potential risks of reparative therapy are
great including[:] depression, anxiety, and self destructive behaviors since therapist alignment
with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce [the] self-hate already experienced
by the patient.” (The Trevor Project) As of 2020 about 28% of LGBTQ+ youth who have
undergone conversion therapy have attempted suicide within the last 12 months. Conversion
therapy more than doubles the suicide rate of LBTQ+ youth taking it from 12% to 28%. (John
Elfein, Statistica) Trans children under the age of 10 who were subjected to conversion therapy
were four times likelier to commit suicide than the general trans population. (Tim Fitzsimons,
NBC News) .Talk therapy can also be traumatic and all conversion therapy can lead to PTSD
symptoms such as: hypervigilance, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance behaviors, and more.
(Irct) Our youth are being subjected to an unnecessary, ineffective practice that is so harmful it
can lead to depression, anxiety PTSD, and suicide.
Every major medical and mental health organization in the U.S. has condemned the use of
conversion therapy in statements. The American Medical Association, American Psychological
Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics among others have public statements that
oppose conversion therapy because it is harmful and ineffective. Many of these health
organizations have asked state legislatures and Congress to pass laws banning conversion
therapy. The American Counseling Association’s (ACA) CEO submitted testimonty to the House
and Senate of Illinois in support of the conversion therapy ban bill. ACA members sent a total of
63 letters to the Governor and state legislators in support of the bill. The National Association of
School Psychologists, American Psychoanalytic Association, American Counseling Association,
and The American Academy of Pediatrics endorsed the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act that
would have prohibited the practice of conversion therapy. The American Psychological
Association has issued the following statement: “Advising parents, guardians, young people,
and their families to avoid sexual orientation change efforts that portray homosexuality as a
mental illness or developemntal disorder, and to seek psychotherapy, social support, and
education services that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality,
increase family and school support, and reduce the rejection of sexual minority youth. (Christy
Mallory, Taylor N.T. Brown, and Kerith J. Conron, Williams Institute of Law) Every major U.S.
medical and mental health association has called for conversion therapy to be banned, and
many have stated that it is ineffective and harmful, yet conversion therapy continues to be
conducted.
Every year about 16,000 youth in the U.S. will be subjected to conversion therapy from a
liscened health professional, and 57,000 youth in the U.S. will receive conversion therapy from
a religious or spiritual advisor. About 698,000 LGBT adults in the U.S. have received conversion
therapy from a liscened professional, religious advisor, or both at some time in their life, and
350,000 from that number have received it as adolescents. 22 states and 2 territories have
laws/regulation that protect youth from conversion therapy. A national public poll conduceted by
Ipsos/Reuters found that conversion therapy conducted by mental health practitioners on youth
is widely opposed, and 56% of adults support making it illegal. In addition, only 18% of adults
supported making it legal. Support for making it illegal was found across all age groups, regions
of the U.S. , and rural/urban residences(Christy Mallory, Taylor N.T. Brown, Kerith J. Conron,
Williams Institute of Law) Conversion therapy is widely opposed by both the medical and
general population.
In conclusion, conversion therapy is unecessary because being LGBTQ+ is not a mental health
or developemental disorder. It is also ineffective; no credible scientific study has every
supported the idea that conversion therapy works. Every major U.S. medical and mental health
association has called for conversion therapy to be banned. Conversion therapy is also widely
opposed by both the general and medical population. Sadly, conversion therapy is also very
harmful and often leads to depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicide. In fact, it could be argued
that conversion therapy is a form of child abuse and torture. Conversion therapy is a cruel
practice that needs to be stopped! We are the United States; a country of freedom. Our youth
deserve the freedom to be themselves not to be tortured for something they cannot change.

II. Resource Analysis and Information Gathering

After searching for sources, select three that provide information and analysis about the
problem you have identified as your focus issue and complete a summary sheet for each
resource. Based on your evaluation, these sources should be reliable and purposefully selected
to give you multiple perspectives on your topic. List the three sources below:

Source #1: williamsinstitute.law.ucla

Source #2: The Trevor Project
Source #3: Statistica
Source#4: app.com
Source#5: hrc.org