DES MOINES — The Iowa Senate could be taking up a bill to ban conversion therapy in the state, according to Senate President Charles Schneider.
“I’m open to it, certainly. Different states have done it in different ways,” said Schneider. “So I think how the bill is phrased and what it does certainly will have an impact on how much support it can get.”
Speaker-elect Pat Grassley said that he had been hearing rumors about legislation regarding conversion therapy, but that he had not had any specific conversations with any members of the House.
“As the leader of the caucus, I don’t think it’s my job to tell them what they should and should not be allowed to talk about,” said Grassley. “And I also am not going to sit here, make any predictions on what the result of that meeting may be.”
Conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change an individual’s sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual using psychological or spiritual interventions. The American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association have both opposed conversion or “reparative” therapy.
The 2020 legislative session begins Jan. 13.