President Barack Obama has called for an end of attempts to turn gay, lesbian and transgender minors heterosexual through a practice known as conversion therapy, CBS News reported.
The therapy, condemned by the American Psychiatric Association, attempts to alter one's sexuality based on psychiatric treatments. Or in other words, "fix" those who are gay, lesbian or transgender.
But experts say it does more harm than good and can have devastating results, as is the case with a transgender 17-year-old named Leelah Alcorn who committed suicide last year. Her death sparked a petition posted on the White House website demanding legislation against conversion therapies.
On Wednesday, Obama's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett released a statement showing solidarity for LGBT youth who might be suffering from attempts to change who they are.
"We share your concern about its potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer youth," Jarrett said.
"The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy, especially when it is practiced on young people, is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm."
Those who support gender identity and "reparative" therapy say it's possible to change someone's sexual orientation and that the treatments are a way to help homosexuals or transgenders return to their "authentic" heterosexual selves, The New York Times reported.
"Numerous examples exist of people who have successfully modified their sexual behavior, identity, and arousal or fantasies."
But such practices are said to place an unbearable psychological strain on transgender minors like Alcorn, who wrote a note before she died revealing her struggle with depression and dealing with parents who took her to Christian therapies.
"The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren't treated the way I was," Alcorn, born Joshua Alcorn, wrote.
The Obama administration did not outright call for federal legislation against conversion therapy, but the statement highlighted states that have already passed similar laws- including California and New Jersey- with the hope that other states will do the same.
