Obama Calls for Laws Banning Gay Conversion Therapy

O’Leary noted that according to the latest psychiatric profession standards in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), "the risk of suicide persists even after surgery."

Catholic psychiatrist Richard Fitzgibbons told Aleteia, "Youth have the right to be given informed consent about the serious medical and psych risks associated with same-sex attraction."

Fitzgibbons referred a reporter to an article on the website of his practice, the Institute for Marital Healing, which read in part: “Important medical and psychological issues need to be considered before the educational, medical, political and judicial systems rush headlong into a process of affirming in youth and in their parents a fixed false belief that a person can be a sex that is not consistent with their biological and genetic identity and that such individuals have the right to transgender surgery. Fixed false beliefs are identified in the mental health field as manifestations of a serious thinking disorder, specifically a delusion.  Health professionals are supporting this delusional belief in these youth and their parents."

The Times noted that California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have banned therapists from offering the treatment to minors. Similar legislation was introduced in 18 states this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group that tracks legislation on the issue. Challenges to the laws in New Jersey and California were rejected by federal appeals court judges in 2013 and 2014, officials at the Human Rights Campaign said.

As if to adhere to a "practice what you preach" principle, the administration also announced the creation of an “all-gender restroom” in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where many of the White House staff members work, "to provide an additional option for transgender individuals who are not comfortable using either the men’s or women’s restrooms," the Times reported.