Kentucky

Expert: Kentucky conversion therapy ban will have ‘chilling effect’

Published

1 year ago

September 25, 2024

Press Room

Expert: Kentucky conversion therapy ban will have ‘chilling effect’

By Peter Pinedo

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 25, 2024 / 07:00 am

In the wake of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signing an executive order banning “conversion therapy” for children, some experts are raising the alarm that the move could have a “chilling effect” on beneficial mental health counseling.

The order, signed by Beshear last week, defines conversion therapy as “any practice, treatment, or intervention that seeks or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.”

The order prohibits state and federal funding for conversion therapy and counseling and gives state licensing boards authority to penalize practitioners offering such services to minors.

In a Sept. 18 press statement, the state’s Democratic governor said conversion therapy “has no basis in medicine or science, and it can cause significant long-term harm to our kids, including increased rates of suicide and depression.”

“Kentucky cannot possibly reach its full potential unless it is free from discrimination by or against any citizen — unless all our people feel welcome in our spaces, free from unjust barriers and supported to be themselves,” the governor said. “This is about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that hurts them.”

Free speech experts raise alarm

According to Liberty Counsel, a law firm specializing in religious freedom and free speech, the order’s broad definition of conversion therapy means that therapists are prohibited from simply counseling patients who want to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion.

The law firm also called the order an “unconstitutional” sidestep of the Kentucky Legislature after that branch of the state government has repeatedly protected children by rejecting attempts to enact an actual law banning counseling.

“Counseling for gender confusion is actually talk therapy,” Liberty Counsel said in a Sept. 19 press release. “Gov. Beshear’s order ignores minors with unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion and makes it illegal for them to get professional help to stop their mental distress.”

Daniel Schmid, an attorney with Liberty Counsel, told CNA that since only the legislature can ban conversion therapy the order is largely a “paper tiger” with little legal effect and cannot prohibit counseling.

Nevertheless, he said the order “creates a significant First Amendment problem” for counselors, children, and parents. He said the order will likely have a significant chilling effect on therapists who may be intimidated by the threat of losing their professional license.

“If you’re a licensed professional, loss of your license is loss of your livelihood,” he said. “If all you do is listen to the media or listen to what the governor said, which is that we’re prohibiting this and we’re going to come after the people who do it, that is a significant enough cause for concern for many counselors.”

“There may be counselors out there who say, ‘Well, I don’t like the idea in here that I could be referred for professional discipline.’ That’s, of course, a chill,” he said.

Conversion therapy bans

Currently, 28 states and the District of Columbia restrict or ban conversion therapy on minors, according to data gathered by the pro-LGBTQ think tank the Movement Advancement Project.

Melissa Moschella, a professor specializing in biomedical ethics and parental rights at the University of Notre Dame, told CNA that these bans effectively put a gag on therapists from seeking out the underlying causes of gender dysphoria and instead mandate “really bad therapy.”

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“A lot of the support for these bans, at least initially, came from horror stories about electroshock therapy for people with same-sex attraction and things like that,” she explained. “But now the term conversion therapy is defined so broadly that it basically means any form of therapy that doesn’t completely affirm and support either a same-sex attraction or a transgender identity.”

Moschella said there is “no evidence at all” that so-called conversion therapy, which she said seeks to explore the underlying mental health issues surrounding gender, increases suicidality or exacerbates mental health problems. On the contrary, she said this type of therapy appears to be “the only therapy that in the long run actually seems to help.”

Ultimately, Moschella said these bans will “make it much harder” for parents to find good therapists and will “require a great deal of courage” on the part of therapists to offer genuine counseling to children suffering from gender dysphoria.

Peter Pinedo

Peter Pinedo is a DC Correspondent for CNA. A graduate of Franciscan University, Peter previously worked for Texas Right to Life. He is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.

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Kentucky

No. 2 seed Iowa State shuts down No. 7 Kentucky in 82-63 NCAA tourney victory

Published

10 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

No. 2 seed Iowa State shuts down No. 7 Kentucky in 82-63 NCAA tourney victory

ST. LOUIS — Tamin Lipsey knew he had to step up for Iowa State with All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sitting on the bench, his sprained left ankle still encased in a boot, as the Cyclones played Kentucky on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Lipsey, who grew up in the shadows of the Iowa State campus in Ames, answered with the finest game of his four-year career.

The senior guard poured in a career-high 26 points, tied a career high with 10 assists, and led a suffocating defense that shut down the Wildcats in the second half, allowing the second-seeded Cyclones to pull away for an 82-63 victory in the NCAA Tournament.

“All the guys knew we had to step up in different ways,” Lipsey said, “however that presented to us.”

Lipsey didn’t do it alone, of course — he needed someone scoring to pile up all those assists. Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and Nate Heise, getting the start in Jefferson’s place, added 12 to help the Cyclones (29-7) advance to a Midwest Region semifinal against either third-seeded Virginia or No. 6 seed Tennessee on Friday night in Chicago.

It will be the eighth Sweet 16 trip for the Cyclones and the third under T.J. Otzelberger, though the question now is whether they will be whole for it. Jefferson, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, is scheduled to have an MRI exam on Monday.

“We’ll see how that goes and take it from there,” Otzelberger said.

Kentucky (22-14) jumped to a 20-9 lead in the opening minutes Sunday before Iowa State fought back to take a 31-30 halftime lead.

The Wildcats were still within 46-40 with 13½ minutes to play when the Cyclones forced three of the Wildcats’ 20 turnovers in quick succession. They converted all three into baskets at the other end, part of a decisive 13-1 run, which not only allowed Iowa State to seize control but also seemed to finally deflate Kentucky.

The Wildcats had been buzzing after a buzzer-beater from Otega Oweh forced overtime in a first-round victory over Santa Clara.

“We had a tough time finding baskets and more importantly we had a real tough time getting a stop,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “They shot 50 percent in the second half from 3, and they played really well. You’re not going to win games when you give up 51 in the second half, and there’s a lot of reasons that happened.”

Oweh followed up his 35-point performance against the Broncos with 18 against the Cyclones, playing most of the second half in foul trouble. Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 20 points, though the pair of guards didn’t get a whole lot more help.

“We didn’t play fully hard for the full 40 minutes,” Aberdeen said, “and we had to do a better job.”

For two teams that can score in bunches, there was little elegance for much of their first matchup since the 2012 NCAA tourney, when the Wildcats beat Iowa State in the second round on their way to winning the national championship.

The Cyclones missed their first 11 tries from beyond the 3-point arc. Kentucky had 12 turnovers in the first half.

“We got a little disoriented,” Pope said, “and that’s what Iowa State does. They increased their pressure and we turned it over 12 times in the first half, and kind of contributed to our own demise.”

Iowa State eventually began driving to the basket and picking up fouls, and generated offense from the free-throw line until its shots started to fall. That began just before the break, and Heise’s buzzer-beating 3 gave the Cyclones a 31-30 advantage.

They went on to outscore Kentucky 51-33 after halftime to coast into the semifinals of the Midwest Region.

“We knew we had to be at our best. I’m proud of our guys,” Otzelberger said. “Felt like the game didn’t start the way we’d like but on defense, our pressure as the game wore on paid dividends for us. We generated turnovers and scored off our defense.”

Up next

Iowa State and Virginia have split four previous meetings, though the Cavaliers won the most recent matchup and the only one in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers cruised 84-71 in the Sweet 16 on March 25, 2016, before losing to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.

The Cyclones beat Tennessee during the 1969 season but they’ve lost the last two to the Volunteers, the first during a tournament in December 1977 and the most recent on January 27, 2018, during the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

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Kentucky

Who is Otega Oweh’s brother of Kentucky basketball star?

Published

22 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Who is Otega Oweh’s brother of Kentucky basketball star?

Kentucky basketball will be back in action on Sunday in the Round of 32 against Iowa State thanks to the heroics of guard Otega Oweh.

Oweh hit the game-tying buzzer-beater against Santa Clara in the first round, sending the game to overtime. The Wildcats ultimately won 89-84.

The back-to-back Second Team All-SEC selection comes from an athletic family. His brother, Odafe Oweh, plays in the NFL, recently signing a free agent deal with the Washington Commanders. Oweh played college football at Penn State, and he was a first-round pick in 2021.

He previously played for the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, earning All-Rookie Team honors in 2021.

The younger Oweh led Kentucky to the Sweet 16 last season, and thanks to his clutch shot on Friday, UK is playing for a shot at a return trip to the tournament’s second weekend.

This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Who is Otega Oweh’s brother who plays in NFL?

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Kentucky

Game time set for Iowa State vs. Kentucky in March Madness second round

Published

2 days ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Game time set for Iowa State vs. Kentucky in March Madness second round

Iowa State men’s basketball will play Kentucky in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday, March 22.

The No. 2-seed Cyclones (28-7) are coming off a 108-74 win over Tennessee State. The No. 7-seed Wildcats (22-13) are coming off a thrilling 89-84 win over No. 10-seed Santa Clara, which featured a buzzer-beating logo 3-pointer by Kentucky to send the game into overtime.

Check below for the need-to-know game information for Iowa State’s first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament:

Buy Iowa State NCAA tournament tickets vs. Kentucky