Fox News reports the bill bans all "reparative therapy" designed to change the sexual orientation of minors. Proponents paint the measure as a civil rights issue, while opponents say it infringes on parental rights.
Sponsored by a coalition of gay rights groups led by California Equality the bill was introduced by State Sen. Ted W. Lieu (D-Redondo Beach). Lieu told Fox News his interest in the issue was sparked by a news report he saw on television in 2011.
"The story detailed the harmful impact on vulnerable minors of this kind of supposed reparative therapy," Lieu said. "So when California Equality approached me about introducing a bill to ban that kind of therapy for minors, I jumped at the chance."
Today, the bill only bans SOCE treatments for minors, regardless of their parents' desires. Initially, the bill's sponsors had wanted a total ban on SOCE in the state. Also cut was a provision that subjected mental health providers to damage claims and civil suits by their former patients and immediate family members if they violated the law.
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