Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) has made his plans for a legal ban on treatment against homosexuality more concrete.
These so-called conversion therapies should generally be prohibited in under-18s, cited the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND, Monday issues) from a bill of the Ministry of Health.
For 16- to 18-year-olds, the ban should not apply if the practitioner proves that his patient has the necessary insight to assess the scope and risks of the treatment.
For consentable adults, however, these treatments would generally be allowed with certain restrictions, the report said. However, this does not apply if people are subject to a "lack of will" in their decision - for example, through deception, error, coercion or threat.
Violations of the new law should be punished with imprisonment of up to one year or heavy fines.
Minister Spahn told the RND that so-called conversion therapies should be banned as much as possible. "Where they are done often causes serious physical and mental suffering," he said. "This supposed therapy makes you sick and not healthy."
"It's okay the way you are"
"A ban is also an important social signal to anyone who quarrels with their homosexuality: it's okay the way you are," says Spahn.
Spahn therefore plans to ban the promotion, offering and mediation of such treatments. According to the Ministry of Health, the provisions of the law should also apply to pastoral and psychotherapeutic conversations: "The prohibition always applies if the interviewee tries to exert undue influence on the sexual orientation or the self-perceived sexual identity of an affected person," the source quotes RND the Ministry.
Homosexuality is not a disease, so there is no reason to treat it, according to a report commissioned by the ministry. In addition, there is not even evidence that the sexual orientation can be permanently changed by the supposed therapies. On the other hand, possible consequences of the treatments are known - they can cause serious mental stress such as depression, anxiety disorders and an increased risk of suicide.
In Germany thousands of cases a year must be assumed, in which it tries to transform homosexual people by questionable methods.