by Janet Eastham, Telegraph
Backing for draft legislation more than halves if mothers face charges for refusing opposite-sex pronouns, poll shows
Prosecuting parents risks collapsing support for Labour’s conversion therapy ban, a poll has found.
Opponents have claimed that parents could face five years in jail for telling children to accept the bodies they were born with under the current terms of the draft Conversion Practices Bill.
A poll has found support for the bill more than halves if parents are not protected from criminal charges for refusing to use opposite-sex pronouns for their child or withholding consent for medical transition.
At a parliamentary hearing to scrutinise the bill on Thursday, Dennis Kavanagh, a criminal barrister and director of the Gay Men’s Network, warned that, under the draft legislation, a mother telling her child “I want you to love your body” could risk prosecution, even if she meant no harm.
He told MPs: “You could, as a parent, be 100 per cent motivated by welfare, and still trigger the bill.”
The new poll, commissioned by The Christian Institute and carried out by Whitestone Insight, surveyed 4,201 UK adults between July 20 and 23.
Watch: Barrister Sarah Phillimore at the Academy of Ideas