Walz signs executive order to restrict conversion therapy for minors

Gov. Tim Walz used his executive authority on Thursday to restrict so-called conversion therapy as Minnesota joins a growing number of states clamping down on the controversial counseling that has drawn intense scorn from the LGBTQ and medical communities.

State leaders and advocates said the order will protect children and families from what Walz called a "Byzantine, tortuous practice." But they stressed that it is merely a first step and said legislators need to pass a comprehensive ban.

"Conversion therapy is widely discredited and causes harm to those who are subjected to it. It is abhorrent, it has no place whatsoever in Minnesota. This executive order will accomplish much in putting a stop to it here," said Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis. "However, executive orders are by their nature temporary."

Dibble and other DFL lawmakers have made failed attempts to push for a ban in the past, and Dibble called on his colleagues to take up the issue again. Meanwhile, cities across Minnesota — from the Twin Cities to Winona and Rochester — have passed local bans. About 20 states have banned conversion therapy.

Walz's order requires the Minnesota departments of health and commerce to ask HMOs and health plan companies to attest that they do not cover the practice. The Health Department also needs to create a report on the public health effects of conversion therapy.

The order requires the Department of Human Rights to investigate and pursue civil enforcement against mental health professionals engaging in discriminatory practices related to conversion therapy, to the extent it can under existing laws.

The state's Department of Human Services must not pay for conversion therapy services through health programs like Medicaid, the order states. It's not clear how frequently public health programs are being used to cover conversion therapy, Walz said, but noted it is something the agency needs to review to ensure it's not happening.

"The prevalence of this is still somewhat debatable," Walz said of conversion therapy. But he added, "It is happening. I mean, it is happening every single day."

GOP legislative leaders declined to comment on the order. The issue is personal for Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, whose child, Genna, came out as a lesbian as a teen.

The family sent Genna to the counseling practice of Marcus Bachmann, the husband of former GOP U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. The senator said it was for healing, not conversion, but Genna Gazelka likened it to "torture."

The Minnesota Family Council, which advocates for "life, family and religious freedom," said Walz's executive order was an example of executive overreach.

The governor's actions bypass the legislative process and will infringe on the freedom of young Minnesotans, the organization said in a statement.

"This executive order will not end so-called 'conversion therapy,' since professional standards in mental health care already did that years ago. Instead, this will ban young people experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria from getting the voluntary, compassionate care they need," Minnesota Family Council CEO John Helmberger said.

However, the Minnesota Medical Association said in a statement that it applauds Walz's action and said conversion therapy doesn't have any scientific basis and is not therapy at all. The association said it leads to poor self-esteem, self-harm, guilt and anxiety.

Walz, who has been in office since 2019, said he has held out hope that the state would make the change through the legislative process, but then decided it was time to take executive action.

At a ceremonial signing event for the order on Thursday, Minneapolis resident Junior Avalos described how, at age 16, he got a job at a fast-food restaurant so he could pay $600 to put himself through conversion therapy because he was being told "there is something wrong with me."

Avalos, now 25, said he's just starting to heal from that trauma.

"I hope that through this executive order LGBTQ children across the state know there's someone on their side. And that they get to live their authentic selves without repercussions or fear," said Avalos.

"However, this is only a first step. It's now up to the Minnesota Legislature to continue this work."

Jessie Van Berkel • 651-925-5044

Twitter: @jessvanb