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Senate commission hears contested views on Project 184’s ban on conversion therapy for minors
Summary
Witnesses and senators debated Project 184, which would prohibit "conversion therapies" for minors. Pastors told the commission the bill’s broad wording could reach religious counseling and parental guidance; sponsors and other senators said the text targets licensed health‑care treatments and seeks to protect children from abusive practices.
San Juan—Lawmakers and faith leaders clashed at a Senate commission hearing on Project 184, a proposed amendment to Puerto Rico’s mental‑health code and child‑protection statutes that would ban conversion therapies for minors.
Pastor René Pereira Morales, who identified himself as a Baptist minister, told the Comisión de Iniciativas Comunitarias, Salud Mental y Adicción that he opposes the bill because, in his view, its definition of "terapia de conversión" is overly broad and could criminalize parents and faith‑based institutions that offer spiritual counseling. "Mediante esta legislación, se criminaliza a todo padre o madre que procure educar y ayudar a su hijo basándose en el principio de que la conducta ... está ligada al elemento biológico natural," Pereira Morales said, and he urged the panel to consider an alternative definition he…
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