Christian Counselors and Minnesotans Oppose Governor Walz Overriding Legislature on So-Called “Conversion Therapy” 

ST. PAUL – Governor Walz has announced his intention to override the Minnesota legislature’s lawmaking authority by issuing a ban on so-called “conversion therapy” via executive order this morning. This is a clear example of executive overreach that will infringe dangerously on the freedom of young people in Minnesota to seek the care that is appropriate for them. 

This ban is a direct attack on individual choice in health care as well as on the constitutional rights of patients, families, and therapists. The governor’s ban could prevent patients from setting their own goals when addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, something they should be free to do.

“This executive order will not end so-called ‘conversion therapy,’ since professional standards in mental health care already did that years ago. Instead, this will ban young people experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria from getting the voluntary, compassionate care they need,” said John Helmberger, CEO of Minnesota Family Council. “In legislative hearings we’ve heard the courageous testimony of many men and women who have had great, life-changing experiences with this type of counseling. At the end of the day, the Governor’s actions will hurt patients seeking to get the care they want.”

Nate Oyloe, a pastoral counselor, says young people would be directly affected by this order. “I was horrified to hear that the Governor plans to override the legislature and issue a so-called ‘conversion therapy’ ban. As a young person dealing with same-sex attractions, I enjoyed the benefit of good psychotherapists and faith-based organizations who helped me bring my sexuality into harmony with my faith as a Christian. I was not coerced or harmed—I was helped greatly. It was life-changing.” 

In an op-ed published in the Star Tribune, Oyloe wrote that efforts to ban this type of counseling could “threaten thousands of people who have experienced real change in their sexual identity.” 

Governor Walz has no business overriding the legislature to deny the state’s residents the freedom to get the counseling they want, not just counseling the state approves of. As legal challenges around the country indicate, this type of ban is a fundamental violation of the rights of patients to set the goals of their treatment, and on the free speech rights of mental health practitioners.

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Minnesota Family Council is our state’s only statewide group advocating for life, family, and religious freedom. MFC believes that Minnesota thrives when religious freedom flourishes, life is cherished at all stages, and God’s design for family and sexuality is honored and lived.