--- description: The decision comes in response to the suicide of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn title: White House Supports Efforts to Ban 'Conversion Therapy' for Youth image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0bbfc581022fe6f/6987ea3a5f570f20b4b190ca/obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LGBT](/tag/lgbt/) ## LGBT Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # White House Supports Efforts to Ban 'Conversion Therapy' for Gay and Transgender Youth  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 9, 2015 2:55 AM CUT  President Barack Obama makes his way to Air Force One before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 8, 2015 President Barack Obama makes his way to Air Force One before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 8, 2015Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 9, 2015 2:55 AM CUT The Obama Administration [responded](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/response-your-petition-conversion-therapy "undefined") to a petition on Wednesday saying it supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy on gay and transgender minors. The announcement comes as a response to the [suicide of Leelah Alcorn](http://time.com/3651037/leelah-alcorn-transgender/ "undefined"), a transgender teenager who threw herself in front of a trailer-tractor last December and who, in a suicide note, said her parents were forcing her to see therapists who tried to convince her to identify as a boy. A WhiteHouse.gov [petition](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/enact-leelahs-law-ban-all-lgbtq-conversion-therapy "undefined") asking the government to ban such practices after Alcorn’s death has garnered more than 120,000 signatures since it was posted in early January. “We share your concern about its potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer youth,” Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the President Obama, wrote in [a statement posted in response to the petition](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/response-your-petition-conversion-therapy "undefined"). “As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors.” By taking a stance on the practice, sometimes referred to as “reparative” therapy, the Administration is following the recommendations by a number of major medical institutions. The American Psychological Association has taken a stance against conversion therapy, saying that it poses a threat to the health of those forced to undergo it. And the American Medical Association, World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics have all also condemned the practice. Jarrett went on to write that Obama would not issue an outright call for a federal ban, but noted he would support efforts to ban conversion therapy on a state level. That will likely be a long endeavor, as conversion therapy is currently banned only in California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia, the New York _Times_ [reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/us/politics/obama-to-call-for-end-to-conversion-therapies-for-gay-and-transgender-youth.html "undefined"). This isn’t a completely partisan issue. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, signed a ban into law in 2013\. However, similar bills have struggled in other states. Earlier Wednesday, a Colorado Senate committee voted 3 to 2 to [strike down](http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2015/04/08/colorado-senate-kills-bill-to-ban-conversion-therapy-for-minors/118695/ "undefined") a bill that would have outlawed conversion therapy. Nevada and Oregon are currently considering similar measures. _Read next:_ [_Leelah Alcorn’s Suicide: Conversion Therapy Is Child Abuse_](http://time.com/3655718/leelah-alcorn-suicide-transgender-therapy/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3814732/white-house-conversion-therapy-youth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3814732/white-house-conversion-therapy-youth/"},"headline":"White House Supports Efforts to Ban 'Conversion Therapy' for Gay and Transgender Youth","datePublished":"2015-04-09T02:55:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:15:14.262Z","description":"The decision comes in response to the suicide of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn","url":"https://time.com/3814732/white-house-conversion-therapy-youth/","keywords":["LGBT","White House","Obama","Transgender"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0bbfc581022fe6f/6987ea3a5f570f20b4b190ca/obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0bbfc581022fe6f/6987ea3a5f570f20b4b190ca/obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Barack Obama makes his way to Air Force One before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 8, 2015.","caption":"President Barack Obama makes his way to Air Force One before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 8, 2015.","creditText":"Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/lgbt/","name":"LGBT"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3814732/white-house-conversion-therapy-youth/","name":"White House Supports Efforts to Ban 'Conversion Therapy' for Gay and Transgender Youth"}}]}] ```