Norwegian Attorney General: Extensive ban on conversion therapy is legally impossible

The new proposal for a ban on conversion therapy aims to forbid treatments aimed at changing one's sexual orientation, not only for minors but also adults, even if they consent to it themselves. Anyone violating the ban can face a penalty of up to three years of prison, or even six when the damage is significant, Dagen reports.

Even though Jørn Sigurd Maurud, the Attorney General, is positive about some kind of ban, he thinks the application to consenting adults is problematic. "It raises significant, principled concerns in that the individual's self-autonomy is disregarded", Maurud writes in response to the consultation. He thinks there is little reason for the state to interfere with how adults deal with their own sexual integrity.

Boundaries

Also, the national attorney general, the second part of the highest level of the prosecuting authority, is critical of the proposal. He stated earlier that the boundaries specified by the ban are unclear, with "subsequent challenges regarding the evidentiary aspects of a potential criminal case", Jan F. Glent wrote in his consultation response.

According to Glent, parents should be able to guide their children. The ban could potentially penalise conversations about gender reassignment between parents and children. That is undesirable, according to Glent.

Also, Norwegian Christians are concerned about the potential ban on conversion therapy, CNE.news reported earlier. According to the organisations, the bill has totalitarian tendencies. Christians are afraid that the ban creates “uncertainty about fundamental rights, such as the ability to quote “religious texts” and deduce what these have to say for our way of life, or the right to pray aloud for someone who seeks intercession and help to live in conformity with the norms of the Bible.”