Plans to ban conversion therapy which could see parents jailed for refusing to let their children change gender are a ‘draconian’ attack on family life and religious freedom, the Catholic Church has warned.
The Church spoke out after a senior bishop met Equalities Minister Emma Roddick yesterday to raise concerns over the proposed new law.
The SNP Government are consulting on the radical legislation which would make it illegal to ‘change or suppress another individual’s gender identity’.
Ministers acknowledge so-called conversion practices often take place in a family setting, raising the prospect parents could be criminalised if they refuse to go along with a child’s declaration that they are transgender – meaning they could face a prison sentence of up to seven years.
Equalities Minister Emma Roddick is in consultation regarding a new law which could see parents jailed for refusing to let their children change gender
Bishop of Paisley John Keenan raised concerns about the proposed law
Writing in today’s Mail, Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, raised concerns the plans amount ‘to draconian laws to tackle a non-existent problem, which could sever relationships between parents and their children and curtail religious freedom’.
He added: ‘Banning such conversations between a parent and their child, would demolish the parental bond and destroy the concept of parental primacy. It’s difficult to imagine anything more damaging to the well-being of society.
At a stroke, children alone would be empowered to decide whether they should be given puberty blocking medication or have irreversible surgery.
Any attempt by a loving parent to dissuade them could result in prosecution.’
The Bishop of Paisley, John Keenan, met Ms Roddick yesterday. The Church said he ‘set out very clearly and robustly the concerns of the Catholic Church’.
He also questioned the need for the legislation and the ‘low quality of evidence on which the proposals were based’, before calling for the plans to be shelved.
Stopping someone ‘dressing in a way that reflects their gender identity’ is cited in the consultation document as an example of an action that would become illegal, even if a parent believed they were acting in a child’s best interests.
It also states that the new law would allow pre-emptive civil orders to be obtained against parents or religious leaders, even where conversion practices had not yet taken place.
The legislation is the latest controversial gender identity measure put forward by the SNP. Last year, plans by then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that would have let children of 16 change gender were blocked by the UK Government.
The Christian Institute has threatened legal action to block the proposals, with critics arguing they would have a devastating impact on freedom of speech, privacy and family life in Scotland.
Writing on social media, Roddy Dunlop, KC, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, said the definition of conversion practices set out in the consultation document was not ‘legally coherent’.
Responding to the Church’s concerns, Ms Roddick said: ‘Our approach respects the legal right to a private and family life and to parents exercising their rights in relation to their children.
‘It is a consultation, and we are open to all views. Our proposals do not prohibit parental guidance, questions or decisions about a child’s welfare that is not motivated by an intention to change or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity.’