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Puerto Rico Senate committee hears experts and senators debate bill to ban conversion therapy for minors
Summary
The Senate commission held a public hearing on Proyecto del Senado 184 on March 24, 2021, where psychiatrists and senators debated banning conversion therapies for minors; witnesses described clinical harms and senators probed the bill’s definition, scope, and parental‑rights implications. No vote was taken.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Senate Commission on Community Initiatives for Mental Health and Addiction opened a public hearing at 9:21 a.m. on March 24, 2021, to consider Proyecto del Senado 184, a bill that would amend Puerto Rico’s mental‑health and child‑protection statutes to prohibit licensed mental‑health professionals from subjecting minors to conversion therapy.
The commission chair framed the hearing as fact‑finding and emphasized that the committee would not take formal recommendations during the session. The panel heard from Dr. José Francisi, a psychiatrist and neurologist identified in the record as director of the Department of Psychiatry at Universidad Central del Caribe, who presented clinical testimony supporting protections for minors. "No hay ninguna organización mundial de la salud respetada que la acepte," he said, summarizing the…
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