The director of ConParticipation stressed that “a child who says he is of the opposite sex [with regard to gender identity] could only be given affirming therapy, because the therapy that would change his situation is classified in the bill as Efforts to Correct Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.”
Padilla said that the use of violence in the attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity did not remain in the bill as what defines the penalized conduct but became an aggravating factor. In other words, the therapy itself — even if given respectfully and received of the person’s own free will — is punishable.
What is ‘conversion therapy’?
“Conversion therapy” as commonly understood encompasses both psychological and scientific practices as well as religious ones that come for the most part from the American Protestant world based on evangelical anthropology, which is different from Catholic anthropology. Critics claim it shames clients, pressures them to change, and sometimes uses other abusive techniques. It is not the same as "reparative therapy."
The LGBT community often uses the term “conversion therapy” to denigrate and criminalize any form of help, even psychological, for people with same-sex attraction.
‘Complete nonsense’
Speaking with ACI Prensa, Rodrigo Iván Cortés, president of the National Front for the Family of Mexico, said the project “is an embarrassment; it’s a completely nonsensical bill.”
Cortés, who also holds a doctorate in government and culture from the University of Navarra, stressed that the legislative proposal “violates the right to health care, violates the right to freedom of speech, religious freedom, and academic freedom.”
For the lawyer Brown, the harm that this bill can cause if it is passed by Congress “is threefold: harm to the right to the professional freedom of doctors and psychologists who do not share this vision, harm to parental authority, and to the right to freely raise children according to one’s own convictions.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Ana Paula Morales has master's degrees in neuromarketing, applied integral communication and theology. She has been writing for ACI Prensa in Mexico since 2022.