Psychotherapist challenges Maryland’s conversion therapy ban
Posted Jan 22, 2019 02:09:33 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Virginia-based psychotherapist is suing to overturn Maryland’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, saying it prevents him from taking clients with an “unwanted same-sex attraction.”
The Baltimore Sun reports Christopher Doyle filed a federal lawsuit Friday, arguing the ban adopted last year violates his rights, as well as clients’ rights “to prioritize their religious and moral values.”
The American Psychological Association opposes therapy seeking to change sexual orientation, saying it doesn’t work and can cause harm.
Meagan Simonaire is bisexual and made headlines when the then-delegate opposed her state-senator father by speaking out against the practice. She called the lawsuit “a punch in the gut.”
Doyle is represented by the Florida-based Liberty Counsel, a group opposed to same-sex marriage.
The attorney general’s office said it hadn’t seen the lawsuit.
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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com
The Associated Press
