The House of Representatives will vote this week on the "gay cure" bill.
The bill concerning "gay conversion therapy" is expected to be reviewed at the next meeting of the committee chaired by Representative Pastor Marcos Feliciano (PSC/SP); homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases almost 30 years ago.
Carolina Gonçalves
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brasilia – The anticipation surrounding the vote on a bill authorizing psychological treatment or therapy to alter the sexual orientation of homosexuals has reignited criticism of the Human Rights and Minorities Commission (CDHM) of the Chamber of Deputies. Since Congressman Pastor Marco Feliciano (PSC-SP) took over the coordination of the group's work, protesters opposed to his appointment have organized several demonstrations and managed to cancel some of the commission's work agendas. Now, the same commission is preparing to decide on one of the most controversial issues involving homosexuals.
The consideration of the Chamber's Draft Decree (PDC) that deals with "cure" gay"This should take place at the group's next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday (8). The text suspends a resolution by the Federal Council of Psychology (CFP) that prohibits professionals in the field from participating in therapy to alter sexual orientation and the attribution of a pathological character to homosexuality. Homosexuality has been excluded from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) for almost 30 years."
Despite all the controversy, the rapporteur for the proposal, Deputy Anderson Ferreira (PR-PE), who presented a favorable opinion on the project, guaranteed that he will not change his position on the matter. "I'm just trying to correct the imbalance that he [the CFP] tried to create through this resolution. Every human being has the right to seek help and try to understand an internal conflict," he said.
According to the parliamentarian, homosexuality is related to a behavioral issue. "At no point did I say it can be treated as an illness; I only mentioned that it's behavioral, and if it's behavioral, you might want help. A person might want help to try to understand their behavior. Why does the council prevent help for them to try to understand the behavior they are exhibiting at that moment?" he added.
“At no point does the [CFP] resolution create obstacles to professional practice, but rather offers indicators and situates professional practice within ethical and technically qualified contexts,” countered Clara Goldman, vice-president of the Federal Council of Psychology. According to her, the bill currently being debated in the Chamber of Deputies violates a landmark in the defense of human rights. Free sexual orientation is an internationally recognized mechanism for guaranteeing rights.
“PAHO [Pan American Health Organization] has clear positions on conversion therapies, which have no scientific basis and are ethically unacceptable. If we are fighting for a society free from hatred, violence, and prejudice, how can we regress to a level that the world has already recognized as wrong, which is the pathologization (transformation into a disease) of homosexuality?” he added.
After review and voting in the Human Rights Committee, PDC 234/2011 will still be analyzed by the Social Security and Family Committee and the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ). According to Representative Érika Kokay (PT-DF), who believes there is a clear and already defined position in favor of approving the bill in the committee, the matter should not be approved in other committees.
“What the obscurantists in the Chamber want is [for homosexuality] to be considered an illness and to allow professionals to discriminate. I am sure that this position of the CDHM will not be endorsed in other committees,” she said. “There has never been any level of restriction on any psychologist from attending to a person in distress,” the congresswoman added.