19 states ban 'conversion therapy' for minors; after an Iowa House bill fails to advance, the state is unlikely to become the 20th this year

A Republican bill that would ban health care providers from administering the widely discredited practice of "conversion therapy" on LGBTQ children will not advance this year.

But the chairman of the House State Government Committee said he's determined to bring the issue back next session to continue the conversation and address some of the recommendations that LGBTQ rights advocates have for the bill.

“This has just been whispers in the hallway, and conversations at people’s desks," Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said of the discussions surrounding conversion therapy. "This is now elevated to something that could be an actual committee bill.”

Kaufmann said he has been talking with Iowa Safe Schools officials about legislation banning conversion therapy, a practice used to force to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, for months. Iowa Safe Schools works "to provide safe, supportive, and nurturing learning environments and communities for LGBTQ and allied youth."

He patterned his bill, House Study Bill 698, after the most recent ban in Utah. Currently, nineteen states ban conversion therapy for minors.

Kaufmann's bill would not extend the ban to a clergy member or a religious counselor who is acting in a pastoral or religious capacity, or a parent or grandparent of a minor who may also be a health care professional but is acting as a parent.

Groups such as the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association have condemned conversion therapy as a practice not based in science and harmful to mental health.

Rep. Mary Mascher, of Iowa City and the Democrat on Wednesday's subcommittee, said she couldn't support the religious exemption in the bill.

“I feel that that is state-sanctioned child abuse, and why would we as a state believe or condone that in any way, shape or form?" she said.

Both One Iowa, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, and Iowa Safe Schools registered as undecided on Kaufmann's bill.

Iowa Safe Schools executive director Nate Monson said his organization wants to see more protections for LGBTQ youth in foster care and to see conversion therapy defined as a mental injury under mandatory reporting laws in Iowa.

People at Iowa Safe Schools are excited to see a bipartisan bill addressing conversion therapy, he said.

"It almost makes you just giddy and (gives you) goosebumps to hear that Republicans are talking about this just the same as Democrats are now," he said.

The Family Leader, a conservative Christian group, opposed the measure.

Policy liaison Daniel Sunne said the group supports limiting the use of techniques sometimes employed in conversion therapy, such as electroshock treatments and forced vomiting. But he said he worried the measure, if it became law, could also result in punishing mental health professionals who discourage children from trying to transition from one gender to another.

"This bill as written does not prohibit electroshock therapy. It does not prohibit forced vomiting or verbal assault," Sunne said. "The only thing that this bill, as written, does is prohibit a mental health professional from expressing certain beliefs."

Kaufmann chose not to advance his bill through a subcommittee Wednesday morning, citing the issues that still needed to be worked out.

Several Democrats also introduced a conversion therapy ban measure, Senate File 2257. It has not yet had a subcommittee hearing. Kaufmann said he would consider the Senate bill if it came before his committee.

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.