EU declines to ban LGBTQ conversion therapy, pushes national action instead
Over one million signatures demanded a ban, but the EU opts for recommendations.
The European Union announced on Wednesday that it will not enact a bloc-wide prohibition on so-called 'conversion therapy' targeting LGBTQ individuals, despite pressure from a petition signed by over one million citizens. Instead, the European Commission will issue a non-binding recommendation next year, urging each of the 27 member states to adopt national-level bans. Conversion therapies involve practices aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, and are widely condemned by medical and human rights organizations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that such practices 'have no place in our union,' and the Commission flew the LGBTQ flag outside its Brussels headquarters in a symbolic gesture. Currently, only eight EU countries have enacted bans on conversion therapy. The decision stops short of the comprehensive, legally binding prohibition that activists had sought, leaving the pace and scope of action to individual member states.
- Over one million people signed a petition demanding an EU-wide ban on conversion therapy.
- The European Commission will issue a non-binding recommendation for national bans rather than a bloc-wide law.
- Only eight of the 27 EU member states currently have bans on conversion therapy in place.
Why It Matters
EU leaves LGBTQ protections to individual states, risking uneven legal safeguards across the bloc.