Colorado Is Now the 18th State to Ban Conversion Therapy on Minors

Conversion therapy is a dangerous, debunked series of methods that have existed since at least the 1970s that hope to change a patient's sexuality or gender. Over time, those practices have been found to be without scientific bases and have instead found to be harmful, leading to "depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior," according to the American Psychiatric Association. As more research came out the pseudoscience, some of its main proponents began to disavow it -- In June of 2013, Exodus International, a Christian group that was one of the leaders in the techniques apologized for the harm it had done and disbanded.

In 2012, states began to outlaw the practice against minors under the age of 18, bolstered at times by organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, Born Perfect and more as well as major media attention. In 2018 there was a pop culture watershed moment with the release of films like Boy Erased and The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

Here are all of the states (and a few territories) that have outlawed conversion therapy, called by some the "gay cure," in chronological order.