State Sen. Scott Wiener announced legislation on Friday that would allow survivors of conversion therapy in California to pursue malpractice lawsuits years after the treatment occurred.
Senate Bill 934 would expand the time limits for filing civil claims against licensed health care providers accused of using conversion therapy, a practice widely condemned by major medical and mental health organizations as harmful and ineffective.
Under the bill, survivors who were minors at the time of the therapy could file claims until age 40, a press release issued Friday noted.
Adults could file within 10 years of their last session or within five years of discovering harm tied to the treatment.
Wiener said the measure is intended to strengthen protections for LGBTQ+ youth and give survivors more time to seek justice for long-term trauma linked to conversion therapy.
The bill is backed by organizations including Equality California, Lambda Legal, National Center for LGBTQ Rights, and The Trevor Project.
“With conversion therapy bans facing legal threats from right-wing extremists and a hostile Supreme Court, we must create new strategies to protect LGBTQ youth. SB 934 provides these safeguards,” said Senator Wiener. “Survivors struggle with deep scars from this treatment for years and years, and they deserve the right to justice for what has been done to them. SB 934 gives them the right to hold charlatans accountable for this debunked torture.”
The harms from “conversion therapy” are basically entirely emotional, what we really need is to allow the victims of “gender affirming” surgery to sue for both the emotional harm it causes as well as the real physical harm caused by that kind of butchery.
And the donations from the legal community will start flowing into Wiener’s campaign funds…
I think it’s amazing that getting mental help for people is so hard in today’s society. Yet someone who is “transgender” can sue for getting “conversion therapy.” Being “transgender” is body dismorphia which is a mental illness. Seems hypocritical to me. Can I sue my high school counselor for telling me I would amount to nothing? That seems like she gave me some mental illness from that. What is this world coming to when these are the issues at hand.
Lawsuits against “gender change” surgeries is the far greater liability. There are already settlements. And beyond surgeons, victims and their lawyers will target the deep pockets of governments which passed laws to quash parental rights for their minor children. And of course government pockets are Taxpayer pockets.
Beware of any legislation from Scott Weiner and endorsed by the Trevor Project. Mr. Weiner has brought you the legislation that has put violent men in women’s prisons (SB 132) and also prevents law enforcement from enforcing loitering laws, which has led to an explosion in open prostitution and sex trafficking. These two laws are horrible for women, but Mr. Weiner does not care about women and girls AT ALL. Today, the real conversion therapy is happening to (likely) gay kids who are being told by indoctrinated therapists they are born in the wrong body and convinced into being lifelong medical patients. Trans-ing the Gay Away is the new actual conversation therapy and is actually the real risk to gay youth, but you won’t hear Mr. Weiner talk about that.
Conversion therapy is the conservative answer to liberal “gender affirming care”.
Neither works. Never has. Never will.
Shame on anyone who pushes such psychological torment on children who are gay.
Also, shame on anyone who pushes the physical deformation of children.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.