Senate hearing on Bill 184 hears survivor testimony and professional support, but witnesses urge clarifying language to cover church counseling

A Senate committee hearing on Senate Bill 184 heard testimony from the Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social and a survivor who urged lawmakers to broaden the bill’s protections to capture religious and informal counseling practices that aim to change sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill seeks to amend Law 408 (2000) and Law 246 (2011) to prohibit conversion or reparative therapies for minors.

Lidael Vega, first vice president of the Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social, told the committee that conversion therapies are incompatible with the profession’s code of ethics and “revictimiza a los participantes” (SEG 052-055). “Prohibir las terapias reparativas o de conversión nos encaminan a ser un país más justo y equitativo para toda la ciudadanía,” she said, and noted the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) “se opone a enseñar a estudiantes de trabajo social enfoques de terapia de conversión en sus programas acreditados” (SEG 046-048).

Alejandro Santiago Calderón, who described himself as an activist, social worker and survivor, recounted a multi-year experience in religious settings he characterized as coercive. “Yo, como sobreviviente, ya yo conocí el infierno y precisamente lo conocí dentro de la iglesia,” he said, and urged lawmakers to adopt a broad definition that would capture practices inside churches and ministries (SEG 238-241; SEG 106-111).

Committee members pressed witnesses on the bill’s scope. Senator Rafael Bernabé emphasized that the draft’s prohibitions target minors: “Lo que se está prohibiendo es a menores de edad,” noting the bill’s prohibitory language appears later in the text (SEG 611-614). Several senators, including Joan Rodríguez Bebé, raised concerns about legal interpretation and parental rights, asking whether the statute could be read more broadly or inadvertently alter other legal duties; Rodríguez Bebé said, “Si esto es tan y tan perverso, debería prohibirle a todo el mundo” (SEG 771-773).

Witnesses and lawmakers debated whether the draft should explicitly include counseling offered in religious contexts or spiritual counseling by clergy. The Colegio told the committee that spiritual counseling is not regulated by professional boards and therefore could remain outside disciplinary reach unless the text or accompanying investigations address institutional or faith-based practices (SEG 090-095; SEG 698-706). Witnesses cited studies and estimates — including a Williams Institute analysis referenced in testimony that estimated tens of thousands of youths had been exposed to conversion practices in the U.S. (SEG 096-100) — to underscore public-health concerns.

On procedural matters, senators and witnesses discussed enforcement and reporting pathways. The Colegio said ethical complaints against licensed professionals are handled through its regulatory procedures but acknowledged that many incidents go unreported; it supported tipifying conversion practices as maltreatment so mandatory reporting and broader citizen complaints would be possible (SEG 146-156; SEG 1546-1556). The committee accepted recommendations from deponents, invited submission of memorials, requested supporting documents to be filed within days and took a short recess before the next panel (SEG 2190-2208).

Next steps: the committee will continue consideration of Bill 184, accept written memorials and documents from witnesses, and may revise language to address whether and how religious or spiritual counseling is covered. No vote on the measure was recorded during this panel.