Mental Health Protection Act
House Bill 494, titled the Mental Health Protection Act, would prohibit “conversion therapy” for minors and for adults who have disabilities by certain licensed or fee-based mental health and pastoral counseling professionals. The bill defines conversion therapy broadly as practices or treatments intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to alter behaviors or gender expression or to reduce same-sex attractions. It expressly excludes counseling that supports a person undergoing gender transition, or counseling that provides acceptance, support, identity exploration, coping, or sexual-orientation-neutral interventions that do not seek to change orientation or gender identity.
The bill also bars the use of state, municipal, or other local public funds for conversion therapy, referrals for conversion therapy, health coverage for conversion therapy, or grants and contracts with entities that conduct or refer people for conversion therapy. It would make conversion therapy by covered licensed professionals “unprofessional conduct,” subjecting them to discipline by their licensing boards, and it gives the Department of Health and Human Services concurrent authority to initiate enforcement proceedings and adopt rules. The act would take effect when it becomes law and apply prospectively to conduct occurring on or after that date.
If enacted, the bill would add a new Article 1O to Chapter 90 of the North Carolina General Statutes, creating a statewide prohibition on conversion therapy for specified vulnerable populations and establishing professional discipline consequences for covered practitioners. It would affect fee-based pastoral counselors, licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists, as well as public agencies and local governments by restricting the use of public funds for conversion therapy-related services and coverage. The bill would also expand DHHS oversight authority in this area and create a new statutory framework for enforcement and rulemaking.
The bill text reflects a strongly supportive posture toward protecting LGBTQ minors and adults with disabilities from conversion therapy, citing extensive medical and mental health organizations and studies describing the practice as ineffective and harmful. No committee transcript or recorded vote information is available in the provided materials, so there is no documented legislative debate or roll-call sentiment to summarize beyond the bill’s own findings and framing. Based on the text alone, the measure is presented as a public health and child protection bill rather than a culture-war or speech-regulation measure.
The likely points of contention are the bill’s restriction on counseling practices, its application to pastoral counselors, and its inclusion of gender identity and gender expression alongside sexual orientation. Opponents of similar measures typically argue that such laws interfere with religious counseling, parental rights, and professional speech, while supporters emphasize the documented harms of conversion therapy and the state’s interest in protecting minors and disabled adults. The bill attempts to narrow that conflict by excluding supportive counseling, transition-related counseling, and sexual-orientation-neutral interventions that do not seek to change identity or orientation.