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Hannah Blythyn, Wales' Deputy Minister for Social PartnershipScreenshot/Facebook

(LifeSiteNews) — In one of the first bits of good news on the gender front, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced that his government would be taking a closer look at the definitions included in the U.K.’s conversion therapy ban; additionally, some mainstream media sources are finally admitting that a debate exists after a half-decade of merely printing LGBT talking points.  

In response to this newfound caution, however, the Welsh government is taking the opposite approach, announcing that it is seeking to make Wales “the friendliest LGBTQ+ Nation in Europe” and will thus consider bringing in a so-called conversion therapy ban “unilaterally.”  

The Welsh Deputy Minister for Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn released a statement in response to the Johnson government’s announcement that the UK would be forging ahead with a conversion therapy ban, but would not be applying the ban to those with gender dysphoria (the vast majority of whom grow out of these feelings naturally) by saying that the Welsh government would take steps to ensure “no one is left out.” This is being interpreted as a direct rebuke and an indication that a Welsh “conversion therapy ban” would include children with gender dysphoria, potentially criminalizing therapies oriented towards helping young people feel comfortable in their own bodies. 

The Welsh government is still in the early stages of their plan; Blythyn has indicated that they are still “seeking legal advice to determine all the levers we have in Wales to end the practice of conversion therapy” and that she thinks educating the Welsh population through a “dedicated campaign” will also be necessary. Blythyn stated that, as a first step, an expert panel would be formed to lay the groundwork for legislation. The panel would interview people from “faith communities; the health and social care sector; and children and young people’s representatives.” Representatives of the LGBT community, predictably, would serve in an advisory capacity as the law was developed.  

Despite Blythyn’s statement that religious communities would be included, groups like Christian Concern were dubious, noting that an “expert advisory group” set up by the SNP-Green alliance in Scotland for the same purpose didn’t bother to speak to representatives who would express “concerns over the effects a broad ban would have on the ordinary work of churches.” It is more likely that clergy like the Anglican former Archbishop of Canterbury, who recently condemned the cautious approach of the Johnson government and urged legislators to include gender dysphoria in a conversion therapy ban, would be consulted.  

According to Christian Concern, a spokesman for Let Us Pray, an organization working to protect pastoral activity from being criminalized, was deeply concerned by the news, noting that Welsh politicians are ignoring the reality that a broad conversion therapy ban is “un-evidenced and in many ways unworkable…The same activists who opposed the U-turn in Westminster, and are supporting Wales in its own plans, want to see the ordinary work of churches outlawed. In recent days they have reiterated that a ban must cover even ‘private prayer.’ Now the Welsh Government plans to put them on an ‘expert group’ to advise on a ban.” 

“The powers to bring forward a ban are not devolved to Wales, but the Welsh Government must now be very clear that it will respect religious freedom – including prayer, preaching, pastoral care and Christian parenting – in its new campaign,” he added. 

I suspect that religious freedom is the least of their concerns. Time—and inevitable court challenges—will tell. In the meantime, the Sexual Revolution’s ecclesiastical lapdogs—men like Dr. Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury—are condemning many gender dysphoric children to a lifetime of medicalization in the name of compassion. It is disgusting that a man like Boris Johnson is more aware of the dangers of gender ideology than a man who once professed to be the chief religious authority of England’s national Christian church.   

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Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker, writer, and pro-life activist. His commentary has been translated into more than eight languages and published widely online as well as print newspapers such as the Jewish Independent, the National Post, the Hamilton Spectator and others. He has received an award for combating anti-Semitism in print from the Jewish organization B’nai Brith. His commentary has been featured on CTV Primetime, Global News, EWTN, and the CBC as well as dozens of radio stations and news outlets in Canada and the United States.

He speaks on a wide variety of cultural topics across North America at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions. Some of these topics include abortion, pornography, the Sexual Revolution, and euthanasia. Jonathon holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Simon Fraser University, and is the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Jonathon’s first book, The Culture War, was released in 2016.

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