Wolf signs executive order to discourage conversion therapy

HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA) - Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order on Tuesday to discourage conversion therapy in Pennsylvania. 

"Conversion therapy is a traumatic practice based on junk science that actively harms the people it supposedly seeks to treat," Wolf said in a news release. "This discriminatory practice is widely rejected by medical and scientific professionals and has been proven to lead to worse mental health outcomes for LGBTQIA+ youth subjected to it. This is about keeping our children safe from bullying and extreme practices that harm them."

Wolf said the executive order directs state agencies to do everything they can to discourage conversion therapy, actively promote evidence-based medical treatment for LGBTQIA+ people and update policies and procedures to better support LGBTQIA+ Pennsylvanians. 

The governor's office cited a survey from The Trevor Project that shows 45% of LGBTQIA+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year and those who underwent conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report attempting suicide. 

Wolf is also calling for a full conversion therapy ban in Pennsylvania but said the Republican-led General Assembly will have to pass a bill.