In Tennessee mental health professionals will be able to turn away LGBT clients on the grounds of ‘sincerely held principles’.
A new law allowing psychiatrists and counselors to reject LGBT clients on religious grounds has been passed in the US state of Tennessee.
The state’s legislature passed the new law that will allow therapists and counselors to reject clients if they feel that client violates ‘sincerely held principles’.
The law will have to be passed by the state’s governor before it can come into affect. Tennessee’s Republican governor Bill Haslam has not indicated if we will sign the bill into law. Last week Haslan said he was reserving his decision until the final version of then bill was put forward.
The bill exempts mental health professionals from being sued for discrimination if they turn down clients because of their own religious beliefs. Mental health professionals turning down clients would need to provide them with a referral to another professional.
The new law would not apply if the person seeking help was in imminent danger of harming themselves or others.
Concern has been raised by both LGBT advocates and ethnic groups as the bill does not have any wording relating to what ‘principles’ may be evoked under the legislation.
The American Counselling Association has objected to the bill highlighting that it would make Tennessee the only state would allow counselors to turn away clients, something that is not allowed in the industry associations code of ethics.
The new legislation is one of a series of bills that have been passed in some of the USA’s southern states. Like North Carolina, Tennessee is also considering a bill that would force transgender people to use the public bathroom of their biological birth gender.
Another bill Tennessee’s politicians have in the works is a declaration that ‘The Bible’ will become the state’s ‘official book’.
The Bible would join the state’s other official emblems including the passionflower, the raccoon, the Eastern Box turtle and the M82 sniper rifle.
OIP Staff, Stock Image: Pexels
How ridiculous. Why would anyone consider going to a therapist or councilor who is that closed minded.
How ridiculous. Why would anyone consider going to a therapist or councilor who is that closed minded.
Well folks, what would Jesus do? Not turn anyone away, that’s what.
If your believes include refusing healthcare to patients then you either need new believes or a new job.
If your believes include refusing healthcare to patients then you either need new believes or a new job.
Apparantly “sincerely held” bigotry trumps doing your job now. Sad
Anyone who’s that bigoted thatthey could turn away someone who needs help doesn’t deserve to call themselves a therapist.
Anyone who’s that bigoted thatthey could turn away someone who needs help doesn’t deserve to call themselves a therapist.
Anyone who’s that bigoted thatthey could turn away someone who needs help doesn’t deserve to call themselves a therapist.
They should lose their license if they don’t adhere to the oath they made in their field. If this doesn’t stop, medical drs denying treatment to LGBT ER patients may be next. Hoping some human rights attorney will help fight this.
The bible never said anything about treating people this way. They are ignorant about the bible and ignorant about the Christian Faith. My up brining was with a family of die hard Republicans and recently I told them they cannot be around their Grandchildren. How can you love in one hand and throw a stone in another. I can’t trust them, they would support something that would rip my family apart and then call it God. Maybe they should not have given me a Christian private school education then I wouldn’t know what I am talking about.