Sun Sep 15 13:50:01 UTC 2024: ## Conversion Therapy Ban Stalled Despite National Coalition Party Support
**Helsinki, Finland** – While four members of the National Coalition Party (NCP) on the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee support legislation to outlaw conversion therapy, the practice is unlikely to be banned anytime soon. This comes despite a citizens’ initiative receiving over 52,000 signatures and a broad majority of MPs in favor of a ban.
The NCP members argue that opposition from the more conservative Finns Party and Christian Democrats within the government coalition will likely prevent the initiative from moving forward. They propose a further study of the issue to be conducted during the next government term.
The proposal has received support from the NCP and the Swedish People’s Party (SPP), as well as most opposition lawmakers. However, the two more conservative parties in the coalition, the Christian Democrats and the Finns Party, have firmly stated that no bill on conversion therapy will proceed during this legislative term, which lasts until 2027.
The NCP, Finland’s largest party, finds itself in a difficult position, as their own party conference resolution calls for banning conversion therapy, a practice considered quackery that aims to change a person’s innate sexual orientation or gender identity.
The issue’s future remains uncertain, with the government lacking consensus and the matter not included in the government program. Similar challenges are faced by another citizens’ initiative calling for legalized euthanasia.
First Piper 