South Australia is poised to usher through legislation banning gay conversion therapy, despite concerns raised by some religious leaders and academics that the proposed changes will remove the rights of parents and impinge on religious freedoms. Source: The Australian.
The Conversion Practices Prohibition Bill, introduced less than two weeks ago, is to be debated today and has been praised by the Malinauskas Government for outlawing the “ugly practice” of conversion therapy across the state.
An analysis compiled by religious think tank Freedom for Faith found the bill contained “weak protections” for parents, could prevent faith-based schools from teaching religious doctrine, and could criminalise faith leaders having more than one conversation about sexuality with a member of their congregation.
The same concerns from faith leaders were raised in NSW earlier this year when a near-identical bill was quickly ushered through state parliament.
The Freedom For Faith analysis describes traditional conversion practices as “coercive and barbaric”, but says they are already banned under existing legislation.
Notre Dame adjunct law professor Mark Fowler said state governments had applied “inadequate scrutiny” when rushing through the legislation.
“There is a growing awareness of the wide-ranging limitations that legislation of this nature imposes on the rights of parents and on the operations of religious organisations and schools,” he said.
A government spokesperson said the bill would “protect religious beliefs while stopping the harm of conversion practices”.
“Our bill contains important protections for religious groups, while ensuring the laws are effective at stopping the harm caused by conversion practices,” the spokesperson said.
Adelaide Archdiocese pastoral life director Sarah Moffat said the Church “supports the banning of conversion practices”.
“We are deeply appreciative of the Labor government, through the Attorney-General, for consultation with us,” she said.
FULL STORY
South Australian gay conversion bill ‘strips parental rights’ (By Ellie Dudley, The Australian)
