A King’s Counsel has warned that a proposed bill to ban so-called 'conversion therapy' in Northern Ireland would effectively embed gender self-identification into law and is so nebulous in its definitions it would allow people to say that their gender is whatever they "consider it to be".
Aidan O’Neill KC produced a legal opinion for The Christian Institute on the proposed bill, which he described as “jellyfish legislation” with vague and undefined key terms that carry a “sting in the tail”.
The proposed bill outlaws attempts to “change or suppress” a person's “sexual orientation or gender identity”, but O’Neill notes that this is not limited to people with LGBT identities and would even cover heterosexuals.
In the debate around conversion therapy bans, many critics have raised concerns that parents refusing to affirm their child’s gender identity could be victimised. However O’Neill notes that under the proposal in Northern Ireland, parents urging their daughter to dress less provocatively, or their son to stop listening to Andrew Tate podcasts, could fall foul of the law.
The penalty is up to two years in prison.
O’Neill’s legal opinion also states that prayer and pastoral work would be criminalised if they involved the affirmation of traditional views on sex and gender. When dealing with questions of gender identity or sexuality, the only legal option would be to affirm a person’s stated identity, with the exception of a a few regulated healthcare environments.
Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute, said, “Everyone agrees that violence, abuse and actual coercion should be dealt with by the criminal law. Northern Ireland already has laws against those things.
“The question here is whether the Assembly should create sweeping new criminal offences covering ordinary conversations, advice, prayer and parental guidance – using key concepts which the Bill itself does not even define.”
Calvert added that any bill that could lead to imprisonment should be “absolutely clear” about what in fact constitutes criminal behaviour.
