SB 65 Summary

• Defines "conversion therapy" as any practice or treatment seeking to change sexual orientation or gender identity, with exceptions for supportive counseling, gender transition assistance, and neutral interventions addressing unlawful conduct or unsafe practices.

• Prohibits licensed medical doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, psychologists, and clinical social workers from engaging in conversion therapy with children or referring children to providers in other jurisdictions for such therapy.

• Establishes conversion therapy with a child as grounds for professional discipline, including license suspension or revocation, for all regulated healthcare and mental health practitioners in Delaware.

• Prevents the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families from engaging in or recommending conversion therapy for children.

• Cites major medical and mental health organizations' findings that conversion therapy is ineffective and causes serious harms including depression, anxiety, suicidality, and self-harm in LGBTQ youth.