Critic compares ‘gender affirming’ therapy to lobotomies
Renee McGuinness (left), Vermont AG Charity Clark
By Guy Page
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark has joined a coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia in filing an amicus brief in support of Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, her office announced Tuesday June 3.
The legal brief, submitted this week to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, defends Michigan’s 2023 law prohibiting licensed health professionals from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The brief claims that conversion therapy, also known as sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts is associated with a heightened risk of mental health crises, including depression and suicide, particularly among LGBTQ+ youth.
Vermont has banned the practice since 2016, when a 2015 state law saying “a mental health care provider shall not use conversion therapy with a client younger than 18 years of age” took effect. Mental health professionals are forbidden, upon pain of loss of licensure and other disciplinary measures, to practice conversion therapy – regardless of whether either child or parents request it. Anyone seeking conversion therapy health care from a licensed professional must travel out of state.
This April, a State House seminar by SpeakVT and the Vermont Family Alliance to educate legislators on detransitioning was shut down by transgender hecklers. Legislative leaders refused to order the hecklers out, or criticize them afterwards.
Marie Tiemann, president of SpeakVT, said today “All parents should be extremely concerned about this action.”
“It appears that this is unconstitutional since parents are recognized as the primary caregivers; however Article 22 [added to the Vermont Constitution in 2022] has usurped parent rights,” Tiemann said.
“There is a statement in Article 22 referring to the state’s best interest of the child. That statement is up to interpretation by the state, and each case would be judged separately. Since the “best interest” is not clearly defined, the judgement would be based on the opinion of whoever is in charge,” Tiemann said.
“Our U.S. medical organizations, Planned Parenthood, Attorney General Charity Clark, and other Vermont elected officials continue to erode their credibility by insisting that ‘gender-affirming care’ is legitimate medical practice: it’s on par with lobotomies, quite frankly.”
– Renee McGuinness, Vermont Family Alliance
“Rules and Laws are already in place to protect children who are truly being abused. Charity Clark considers a non-affirming parent to be abusive, when in fact, she is the abuser of children by allowing pharmaceutical and surgical mutilation of growing children.
“How many more children need to be harmed before common sense returns to our society? I would direct all parents to read the writing by “Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT)” to protect their children and before they seek any psychological or medical treatment for their child.
Tiemann encouraged parents to contact SpeakVT at speakvermont@gmail.com.
Clark said the First Amendment gives no protection to conversion therapy practitioners.
“The First Amendment does not give licensed providers the right to practice therapies that fall far below the accepted standard of care,” the brief states. “States have long held the power to regulate professional conduct, especially in the interest of protecting vulnerable populations like children.”
Attorney General Clark emphasized the importance of this legal stance. “Conversion therapy is not just unscientific—it’s dangerous,” Clark claims.
The brief warns that overturning Michigan’s law could have broad implications, potentially undermining states’ rights to regulate other medical practices. It stresses that bans on conversion therapy align with decades of state-level regulation designed to prevent harm and uphold public trust in licensed professionals.
Major national medical and mental health organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and American Psychiatric Association, oppose conversion therapy. More than 25 states currently restrict or ban the practice.
Renee McGuinness, Vermont Family Alliance (VFA) Policy Analyst, disputes the contention of broad opposition to modern-day conversion therapy in the medical community.
While there have been some harmful therapies in the past in treating persons whose sexual attraction is for the same sex, U.S. medical organizations and state legislators have conflated “conversion therapy” to apply to persons who believe they were born in the wrong body,” McGuinness said. “The AMA, APA, APA continue to ignore the scientific research coming out of Europe – the Cass Final Report and UK’s HHS – that children should not be transitioned.
“Nor have they considered the group therapy work conducted by Dr. Az Hakeem [DETRANS: When transition is not the solution by Az Hakeem] Goodreads, in which most persons considering “transitioning” changed their minds. Our U.S. medical organizations, Planned Parenthood, Attorney General Charity Clark, and other Vermont elected officials continue to erode their credibility by insisting that “gender-affirming care” is legitimate medical practice: it’s on par with lobotomies, quite frankly.
Other states joining Vermont and Michigan in the legal filing include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with the District of Columbia.
A copy of the amicus brief is available online.