Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) on Friday vetoed a bill that would have banned conversion therapy in the state, local CBS affiliate WABI reported.
LePage said that the measure could be considered a threat to religious liberty, and that there is no evidence that the therapy is taking place in Maine.
“This is so broad that licensed professionals would be prohibited from counseling an individual even at the individual’s own request,” LePage said in his veto message.
LePage also said that “parents have the right to seek counsel and treatment for their children from professionals who do no oppose the parents’ own religious beliefs.”
“At no time should such treatment take the form of mental or physical abuse and such treatment should always be subject to the statutory requirements of the standard of care for that profession,” he wrote.
The Maine state legislature passed the conversion therapy ban late last month.
Thirteen other states have banned conversion therapy. The governor of New Hampshire signed a law last month banning the practice, and Delaware state lawmakers also passed a bill.
Read the full story at The Hill
