Scottish officials are going through the motions of asking voters what they think about banning trans conversion therapy, but it appears the decision has already been made.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has launched a public consultation on plans to outlaw both gay and transgender conversion therapy—an area where it says it wants to “lead the way.” Whatever those who engage with the consultation say, it seems fairly certain that Equalities Minister Emma Roddick is not for turning—and is even willing to send parents to prison if they refuse to let their children ‘transition’. She described all conversion practices as “damaging and destructive acts that violate people’s human rights,” adding:
They have absolutely no place in Scotland.
SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf is just as unshakable in his view, telling PinkNews before his election that he would ensure LGBT rights “will absolutely advance … in a progressively, socially just Scotland.” Following an interview, the paper described banning conversion therapy as one of Yousaf’s “key priorities.”
The party, then, is unlikely to take much notice of Scottish Catholics who have this week warned that such a ban could create “a chilling effect and may criminalise advice or opinion given in good faith.” A representative of the Catholic Church said:
While the Church supports legislation which protects people from physical and verbal abuse a fundamental pillar of any free society is that the state recognises and respects the right of religious bodies and organisations to be free to teach the fulness of their beliefs and to support, through prayer, counsel and other pastoral means, their members who wish to live in accordance with those beliefs.
Reports have also suggested that under proposed laws, parents who refuse to allow their children to change gender could face up to seven years in jail.
Similar—though less extreme—concerns have been expressed across the rest of the UK. Bow Group Chairman Ben Harris-Quinney late last year told The European Conservative that similar measures in England “will not only make it illegal for individuals to make their own decisions, it is likely to make it illegal for parents to dissuade their children from pursuing trans therapies or ‘transitioning’.”
But like the left wing SNP, the Conservative Party is pushing ahead with a ban anyway. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to ignore conservative campaigners has been described as “an attempt to appease trans campaigners.”
The Scottish consultation, which can be found here, will end at the beginning of April.
