The German government on Wednesday signed off on a new law banning “conversion therapies” designed to force heterosexuality on homosexuals. “Homosexuality is not an illness, so the word ‘therapy’ is misleading,” said health minister Jens Spahn, the architect of the law. Aside from prison sentences for practitioners, the new law will impose fines for those offering or advertising “conversion” practices. So-called conversion therapies for minors will be outlawed entirely, while those for adults will be illegal if carried out against the will of the subject, for example with the use of force or threats. In March 2018, the European parliament passed a resolution condemning the practice and urging member states to ban it.

Source: The Guardian December 18, 2019 10:41 UTC