ID governor signs law to protect the conscience of counselors, therapists

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Greg Chafuen regarding Gov. Brad Little’s signing Thursday of S 1352, a bill that strengthens existing law to ensure that counselors and therapists are not forced to counsel clients towards goals, outcomes, or behaviors that violate their conscience:

“Everyone is served best when counselors and therapists can put their client’s best interest first. To do that, our laws should guarantee that counselors are not forced to provide counseling that conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs or that the counselor believes to be harmful to the client. This critical legislation ensures that counselors and therapists will not be discriminated against when they have a conscientious objection to counseling a client toward a particular outcome that would violate their conscience. It rightly prohibits unnecessary intrusion in a counselor’s or therapist’s office, safeguards freedom of conscience, and preserves the privacy of a client’s relationship with his or her counselor or therapist. We commend Rep. Julianne Young and Sen. Carl Bjerke for their leadership on this front and Gov. Little for signing the bill into law, affirming that freedom of conscience and the counselor-client relationship ought to be protected.”

• Pronunciation guide: Chafuen (CHAFF’-wen)

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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