Bill Text: CA SB1172 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Sexual orientation change efforts.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2012-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 835, Statutes of 2012. [SB1172 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB1172-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1172	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 30, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 25, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 16, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 9, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Lieu

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2012

   An act to add Article 15 (commencing with Section 865) to Chapter
1 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to
healing arts.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1172, as amended, Lieu. Sexual orientation change efforts.
   Existing law provides for licensing and regulation of various
professions in the healing arts, including physicians and surgeons,
psychologists, marriage and family therapists, educational
psychologists, clinical social workers, and licensed professional
clinical counselors.
   This bill would prohibit psychotherapists, as defined, from
performing sexual orientation change efforts, as defined, in the
absence of informed consent of the patient. The bill would require a
specified statement to be included on the informed consent form.
Informed consent would not be effective for patients under 18 years
of age. The bill would provide for a cause of action against
psychotherapists by patients, former patients, or certain other
persons in specified cases. 
   The bill would also declare the intent of the Legislature in this
regard. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) An individual's sexual orientation, whether homosexual,
bisexual, or heterosexual, is not a disease, disorder, illness,
deficiency, or shortcoming. The major professional associations of
mental health practitioners and researchers in the United States have
recognized this fact for nearly 40 years.
   (b) Sexual orientation change efforts  can  pose critical
health risks to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, including
confusion, depression, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, shame,
social withdrawal, suicidality, substance abuse, stress,
disappointment, self-blame, decreased self-esteem and authenticity to
others, increased self-hatred, hostility and blame toward parents,
feelings of anger and betrayal, loss of friends and potential
romantic partners, problems in sexual and emotional intimacy, sexual
dysfunction, high-risk sexual behaviors, a feeling of being
dehumanized and untrue to self, a loss of faith, and a sense of
having wasted time and resources. This is documented by the American
Psychological  Association   Association's 
Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual
Orientation in its 2009 Report of the Task Force on Appropriate
Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. 
   (c) Recognizing that there is no evidence that any type of
psychotherapy can change a person's sexual orientation and that
sexual orientation change efforts may cause serious and lasting
harms, the American Psychiatric Association, the American
Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the
National Association of Social Workers, and the American Academy of
Pediatrics uniformly oppose efforts to change the sexual orientation
of any individual. 
   (c) (1) The American Psychological Association, in its 1997
Resolution on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual
Orientation, states: "We oppose portrayals of lesbian, gay and
bisexual youth and adults as mentally ill due to their sexual
orientation and support the dissemination of accurate information
about sexual orientation and mental health and appropriate
interventions in order to counteract bias that is based in ignorance
of unfounded beliefs about sexual orientation." 
   (2) The American Psychological Association also convened a Task
Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. The
task force conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal
literature on sexual orientation change efforts. It concluded:
"Efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful
and involve some risk of harm, contrary to the claims of sexual
orientation change efforts practitioners and advocates."  
   (d) The American Psychiatric Association published a position
statement in March of 2000 in which it stated: "The American
Psychiatric Association opposes any psychiatric treatment such as
reparative or conversion therapy which is based upon the assumption
that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the a
priori assumption that a patient should change his/her sexual
homosexual orientation."  
   (e) The American School Counselor Association's position statement
on professional school counselors and lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth states: "It is not the
role of the professional school counselor to attempt to change a
student's sexual orientation/gender identity but instead to provide
support to LGBTQ students to promote student achievement and personal
well-being. Recognizing that sexual orientation is not an illness
and does not require treatment, professional school counselors may
provide individual student planning or responsive services to LGBTQ
students to promote self-acceptance, deal with social acceptance,
understand issues related to coming out, including issues that
families may face when a student goes through this process and
identify appropriate community resources."  
   (f) The American Academy of Pediatrics in 1993 published an
article in its journal, Pediatrics, stating: "Therapy directed at
specifically changing sexual orientation is contraindicated, since it
can provoke guilt and anxiety while having little or no potential
for achieving changes in orientation."  
   (g) The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific
Affairs prepared a report in 1994 in which it stated: "Aversion
therapy (a behavioral or medical intervention which pairs unwanted
behavior, in this case, homosexual behavior, with unpleasant
sensations or aversive consequences) is no longer recommended for gay
men and lesbians. Through psychotherapy, gay men and lesbians can
become comfortable with their sexual orientation and understand the
societal response to it."  
   (h) The National Association of Social Workers prepared a 1997
policy statement in which it stated: "Social stigmatization of
lesbian, gay and bisexual people is widespread and is a primary
motivating factor in leading some people to seek sexual orientation
changes. Sexual orientation conversion therapies assume that
homosexual orientation is both pathological and freely chosen. No
data demonstrates that reparative or conversion therapies are
effective, and, in fact, they may be harmful."  
   (d) 
    (i)  Minors who experience family rejection based on
their sexual orientation face especially serious health risks. In one
study, lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults who reported higher
levels of family rejection during adolescence were 8.4 times more
likely to report having attempted suicide, 5.9 times more likely to
report high levels of depression, 3.4 times more likely to use
illegal drugs, and 3.4 times more likely to report having engaged in
unprotected sexual intercourse compared with peers from families that
reported no or low levels of family rejection. This is documented by
 Caitlyn   Caitlin  Ryan et al. in their
article entitled Family Rejection as a Predictor of Negative Health
Outcomes in White and Latino Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Young Adults
(2009) 123 Pediatrics 346. 
   (e) 
    (j)  California has a compelling interest in protecting
the lives and health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.
  SEC. 2.  Article 15 (commencing with Section 865) is added to
Chapter 1 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to
read:

      Article 15.  Sexual Orientation Change Efforts


   865.  For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings: 
   (a)  
    "Informed 
    (a)     "Informed  consent" means
consent that is voluntarily provided in writing by a patient to a
psychotherapist with whom the patient has a therapeutic relationship.
The informed consent must explicitly manifest the patient's
agreement to sexual orientation change efforts and include a
statement as set forth in Section 865.1. Consent that is provided as
a result of therapeutic deception or duress or coercion is not
informed consent.
   (b) "Psychotherapist" means a physician and surgeon specializing
in the practice of psychiatry, a psychologist, a psychological
assistant, a marriage and family therapist, a registered marriage and
family therapist, intern, or trainee, an educational psychologist, a
licensed clinical social worker, an associate clinical social
worker, a licensed professional clinical counselor, or a registered
clinical counselor, intern, or trainee.
   (c) "Psychotherapy" means the professional assessment, evaluation,
treatment, or counseling of a mental or emotional illness, symptom,
or condition by a psychotherapist.
   (d) "Sexual orientation change efforts" means psychotherapy aimed
at altering the sexual or romantic desires, attractions, or conduct
of a person toward people of the same sex so that the desire,
attraction, or conduct is eliminated or reduced or might instead be
directed toward people of a different sex. It does not include
psychotherapy aimed at altering sexual desires, attractions, or
conduct toward minors or relatives or regarding sexual activity with
another person without that person's consent.
   (e) "Therapeutic deception" means a representation by a
psychotherapist that sexual orientation change efforts are endorsed
by leading medical and mental health associations or that they can or
will reduce or eliminate a person's sexual or romantic desires,
attractions, or conduct toward another person of the same sex.
   (f) "Therapeutic relationship" means the relationship that exists
during the time the patient receives psychotherapy.
   (g) "Leading medical and mental health associations" means the
American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological
Association, the American Counseling Association, the National
Association of Social Workers,  the   American 
 Association for Marriage and Family Therapy,  and the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
   865.1.  (a) No psychotherapist shall engage in sexual orientation
change efforts without first obtaining the patient's informed consent
to therapy as prescribed in subdivision (b).
   (b) To obtain informed consent, a treating psychotherapist shall
provide a patient with a form to be signed by the patient that
provides informed consent. The form shall include the following
statement  in size 14 font  :


   "Having a lesbian, gay, or bisexual sexual orientation is not a
mental disorder.  There is no scientific evidence that any
types of therapies are effective in changing a person's sexual
orientation.  Sexual orientation change efforts  
 have not been shown to be safe or effective and  can  ,
in fact,  be harmful. The risks include, but are not limited
to, depression, anxiety,  and  self-destructive
behavior , and suicide  . 
   Medical and mental health associations that oppose the use of
sexual orientation change efforts include the American Medical
Association, the American Psychological Association, the American
Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers,
the American Counseling Association, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, and the American Association for Marriage and Family
Therapy."  
   The American Psychological Association convened a Task Force on
Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation and it
concluded:  
   "Efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be
successful and involve some risk of harm, contrary to the claims of
sexual orientation change efforts practitioners and advocates." 

   The American Academy of Pediatrics states:  
   "Therapy directed at specifically changing sexual orientation is
contraindicated, since it can provoke guilt and anxiety while having
little or no potential for achieving changes in orientation." 

   The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs
prepared a report in which it stated:  
   "Aversion therapy (a behavioral or medical intervention which
pairs unwanted behavior, in this case, homosexual behavior, with
unpleasant sensations or aversive consequences) is no longer
recommended for gay men and lesbians. Through psychotherapy, gay men
and lesbians can become comfortable with their sexual orientation and
understand the societal response to it."  
   The National Association of Social Workers states:  
   "Social stigmatization of lesbian, gay and bisexual people is
widespread and is a primary motivating factor in leading some people
to seek sexual orientation changes. Sexual orientation conversion
therapies assume that homosexual orientation is both pathological and
freely chosen. No data demonstrates that reparative or conversion
therapies are effective, and, in fact, they may be harmful." 


   865.2.  (a) Under no circumstances shall a patient under 18 years
of age undergo sexual orientation change efforts, regardless of the
willingness of a patient's parent, guardian, conservator, or other
person to authorize such efforts.
   (b) The right to refuse sexual orientation change efforts is not
waived by giving informed consent and that consent may be withdrawn
at any time prior to, during, or between sessions of sexual
orientation change efforts.
   (c) Any act of duress or coercion by any person or facility shall
invalidate the patient's consent to sexual orientation change
efforts.
   865.3.  (a) (1) A cause of action may be brought against a
psychotherapist by a patient, former patient, or deceased former
patient's parent, child, or sibling if the sexual orientation change
efforts were conducted without first obtaining informed consent or by
means of therapeutic deception, or if the sexual orientation change
efforts were conducted on a patient who was under 18 years of age at
any point during the use of the sexual orientation change efforts.
   (2) The patient, former patient, or deceased former patient's
parent, child, or sibling may recover actual damages, or statutory
damages in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever is
greater, in addition to costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
   (3) The time for commencement of the action shall be within eight
years of the date the patient or former patient attains the age of
majority or within five years of the date the patient, former
patient, or deceased former patient's parent, child, or sibling
discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the patient was
subjected to sexual orientation change efforts in violation of this
article.
   (b) Nothing in this article precludes or limits the right of a
patient, former patient, or deceased former patient's parent, child,
or sibling to bring a civil action against a psychotherapist arising
from other legal claims.