Mainstream health organizations in the United States find that conversion therapy is potentially harmful, and that there has been no scientifically adequate demonstration of its efficacy in the last forty years. Anecdotal claims of cures are counterbalanced by assertions of harm, and the American Psychological Association, for example, cautions ethical practitioners under the Hippocratic oath to do no harm to refrain from attempts at conversion therapy. Mainstream medical bodies state that conversion therapy can be harmful because it may exploit guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide. Tax payer funds should not be used for this religious harmful bulling practice and should be banned altogether.



