Neb. HHS committee hears testimony on bill to ban conversion therapy for minors

The Nebraska Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing on LB367, a bill introduced by Sen. Megan Hunt that would prohibit licensed health professionals from providing conversion therapy to minors and bar state funds for such treatments.

Supporters told the committee the practice is widely discredited and harmful, while opponents — including legal groups — said the bill would impermissibly regulate speech between clinicians and patients and risk constitutional challenges.

Sen. Megan Hunt, the bill’s introducer, told the committee LB367 would "end the harmful, widely discredited practice known as conversion therapy for minors and bar the use of state funds for its use." She said the bill would make conversion-therapy interventions by credentialed health professionals grounds for disciplinary action under Nebraska’s Uniform Credentialing Act and could create a civil claim under the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Hunt also said the bill has no fiscal note and includes an exception for pastoral counseling when a clergy member is not acting in the capacity of a licensed health…