Betsy DeVos asked whether she supports 'ex-gay' therapy
Thu. January 19, 2017 9:09 AM by Carlos Santoscoy
Washington, D.C. -
At her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Betsy DeVos was asked whether she supports therapies that claim to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT people.
DeVos is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of education.
Democratic Senator Al Franken questioned DeVos about her family's ties to groups that support so-called conversation or "ex-gay" therapy.
"Mrs. DeVos, your family has a long history of supporting anti-LGBT causes including donating millions of dollars to groups that push conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity," Franken said. "For example, you and your family have given over $10 million to Focus On the Family, an organization that currently states on its website that, 'homosexual strugglers can and do change their sexual behavior and identity.'"
"Mrs. DeVos, conversion therapy has been widely discredited and rejected for decades by every mainstream medical and mental health organization as neither medically nor ethically appropriate. It has been shown to lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide, particularly in LGBT youth. In fact, many of the leaders and founders of conversion therapy, including both religious ministries and mental health professionals, have not only publicly renounced it but have issued formal apologies for their work and how harmful it has been to the individuals involved."
"Mrs. DeVos, do you still believe in conversion therapy?" Franken asked.
"Senator Franken, I've never believed in that," DeVos answered. "First of all, let me say I fully embrace equality and I believe in the innate value of every single human being and that all students, no matter their age, should be able to attend a school and feel safe and be free of discrimination. So let's start there and let me just say that your characterization of our contributions I don't think accurately reflects those of my family. I would hope you wouldn't include other family members beyond my core family."
DeVos' mother, Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, has donated to anti-marriage equality campaigns in California and Michigan and served on the boards of anti-equality groups such as Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council (FRC), which her deceased first husband, Edgar Prince, co-founded. DeVos and her family have also given generously to campaigns and groups opposed to marriage equality, including a half-a-million dollar donation by her brother in law, Doug DeVos, to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) through the Douglas and Maria DeVos Foundation in 2009.
DeVos is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of education.
Democratic Senator Al Franken questioned DeVos about her family's ties to groups that support so-called conversation or "ex-gay" therapy.
"Mrs. DeVos, your family has a long history of supporting anti-LGBT causes including donating millions of dollars to groups that push conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity," Franken said. "For example, you and your family have given over $10 million to Focus On the Family, an organization that currently states on its website that, 'homosexual strugglers can and do change their sexual behavior and identity.'"
"Mrs. DeVos, conversion therapy has been widely discredited and rejected for decades by every mainstream medical and mental health organization as neither medically nor ethically appropriate. It has been shown to lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide, particularly in LGBT youth. In fact, many of the leaders and founders of conversion therapy, including both religious ministries and mental health professionals, have not only publicly renounced it but have issued formal apologies for their work and how harmful it has been to the individuals involved."
"Mrs. DeVos, do you still believe in conversion therapy?" Franken asked.
"Senator Franken, I've never believed in that," DeVos answered. "First of all, let me say I fully embrace equality and I believe in the innate value of every single human being and that all students, no matter their age, should be able to attend a school and feel safe and be free of discrimination. So let's start there and let me just say that your characterization of our contributions I don't think accurately reflects those of my family. I would hope you wouldn't include other family members beyond my core family."
DeVos' mother, Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, has donated to anti-marriage equality campaigns in California and Michigan and served on the boards of anti-equality groups such as Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council (FRC), which her deceased first husband, Edgar Prince, co-founded. DeVos and her family have also given generously to campaigns and groups opposed to marriage equality, including a half-a-million dollar donation by her brother in law, Doug DeVos, to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) through the Douglas and Maria DeVos Foundation in 2009.
Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine