A proposed ban on conversion therapy in Northern Ireland has been savaged as “jellyfish legislation”, which fails to properly define what would be made illegal and so risks criminalising perfectly innocent and well-intentioned behaviour.
A 70-page critique of the proposed law, written by Aidan O’Neill KC, notes a host of problems with the legislation.
The proposed law is a Members Bill and is being put forward by Eóin Tennyson MLA. According to O’Neill’s assessment the law has significant technical as well as legal problems.
On the technical front, Member’s Bills are only permitted to concern one of Stormont’s departments. This proposed bill however, while initially being proposed as a criminal justice matter, has already been referred to the Department for Communities and the Department of Health, meaning it impacts on three departments.
O’Neill, who is working together with The Christian Institute, also said the bill “may be said to be a significant or controversial matter that is clearly outside the scope of the current programme … agreed by the Executive Committee and approved by the NI Assembly”.
Aside from the technical aspects of the bill, O’Neill highlights some serious legal implications, should it ever become law.
“Like the Scottish draft Bill these proposals for NI legislation are perhaps best described as ‘jellyfish legislation’. The concepts they use are impossible to grasp; the limits of the proposed legislation are wholly undefined," he said.
He added that the murkiness of what is included in the term “conversion therapy” would have the “undoubted and intended effect” of deterring people from performing any action that could be interpreted as a breach of the law, which comes with a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.
Such actions could include, but are by no means limited to, praying for a person, simply having a discussion about sex and sexuality, or parents trying to dissuade their child from having a sex change.
O’Neill further warned that the legislation may penalise religious groups and political parties that do not agree with “the State’s approved doctrine” on matters of sexuality and transgenderism.
James Kennedy, NI Policy Officer for The Christian Institute, said, “If Tennyson’s proposal gets onto the statute book, it will be a tragedy for Northern Ireland. Ordinary mums and dads will face criminalisation for helping their children to be comfortable in their own skin, rather than seeking lifelong medicalisation and so-called transition for them. Telling your child ‘let’s just wait and see’ could land you with lengthy jail time and fines.
“Those who uphold traditional church teaching on marriage and gender could likewise face the full force of the law. Prayer meetings, Bible studies, pastoral care and church membership would all face the imposition of State-approved LGBT thinking.”
