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    • E. Christian Brugger, D.Phil. – E. Christian Brugger is a Senior Fellow of Ethics and Director of the Fellows Program at the Culture of Life Foundation in Washington, D.C. and the J. Francis Cardinal Stafford Professor of Moral Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado. He has Master degrees in moral theology and moral philosophy from Seton Hall, Harvard and Oxford Universities and received his D.Phil. (Ph.D.) in Christian ethics from Oxford in 2000.  Christian has published over 200 articles in scholarly and popular periodicals on topics in bioethics, sexual ethics, natural law theory, as well as the interdisciplinary field of psychology and Christian anthropology.  He lives on a farm in Evergreen, Colorado, with his wife Melissa and five children.
    • Helen Alvaré, J.D. – Helen Alvaré, J.D. is Honorary Fellow in Law at the Culture of Life Foundation.   Helen is an Associate Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia where she teaches and publishes in the areas of property law, family law, and Catholic social thought. Professor Alvaré serves as Consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute where she chairs the Conscience Protection Task Force, is President of the Chiaroscuro Foundation and most recently Editor and Co-Author of Breaking Through: Catholic Women Speak for Themselves.From 2000 to Spring 2008, Professor Alvare taught at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. Professor Alvare also lectures widely in the United States and Europe on matters concerning marriage, family and respect for human life. She is a consultant to ABC News and to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Marriage and Pro-Life Committees. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named Professor Alvare a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.From 1987-2000, Professor Alvare was an attorney with the USCCB’s General Counsel Office and director of information and planning for the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. In these positions, she testified before the…
    • Jennifer Kimball Watson, Be.L. – Jennifer Kimball Watson joined Culture of Life Foundation as Executive Director in November of 2007. She is an Adjunct Professor of Bioethics at the Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, F.L.. Previous to her work with the Culture of Life Foundation Jennifer was a Wilbur Fellow of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal located in Michigan. Jennifer earned a Licentiate in Bioethics from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum School of Bioethics in Rome.  Her prior undergraduate studies were in International Administration and Government Policy at the Evergreen State College in Washington State.Jennifer’s areas of specialization include Eugenics in Artificial Reproductive Technologies, Heterologous Adoption and Transfer of Embryos, The Womb in Reproductive Technologies, and the Role and Significance of The Medical Act. She interviews with National Conservative and Christian Radio Syndicates as well as several foreign and secular reporters. Jennifer has spoken on the dignity of women and women’s social issues to various audiences since 1999 and has spent several years in advocacy work with various international organizations in the field of life sciences. From 2000 to 2006 she recruited and coordinated grass-roots social policy efforts that consisted of a public and private sector network of professionals and academics…
    • Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D. – Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D., is Culture of Life Foundation’s Associate Fellow in Law. Maggie is member of Washington, D.C. and Maryland bar associations.  She holds a B.A. in Philosophy (Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude) and a Certificate in Classical Philosophy from the University Honors Program at The Catholic University of America. She earned a Juris Doctorate from Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, where she served as a Research Fellow at CUA Law’s Marriage Law Project. She also studied Roman Law and EU Law at Magdalene College, University of Oxford, England.A former Fellow and Staff Counsel for Americans United for Life, Datiles co-authored an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark partial birth abortion case, Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, et al., companion case to Gonzales v. Carhart (2007). She also advised legislators, policy groups and the media (radio and newspapers) on abortion and bioethics laws and drafted pro-life model legislation.Her areas of research and/or publication include legal issues surrounding abortion, government funding restrictions for abortion, contraception, healthcare rights of conscience, stem cell research, artificial reproductive technology, population decline, physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage.She currently publishes articles…
    • William E. May – William E. May is Senior Research Fellow of the Culture of Life Foundation and emeritus Michael J. McGivney Professor of Moral Theology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he taught the academic years from 1991 through 2008 after teaching for 20 years at The Catholic University of America. He is the author of more than a dozen books. The 2nd edition of his Catholic Bioethics and the Gift of Human Life was published by Our Sunday Visitor (2008), and a substantively revised 3rd edition is scheduled for publication in 2013. In 2003 Our Sunday Visitor published a revised and expanded edition of his Introduction to Moral Theology. Among his other books are: Marriage: The Rock on Which the Family Is Built (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1995; 2nd revised edition, 2009)); and, with Ronald Lawler OFM Cap and Joseph Boyle, Catholic Sexual Ethics (rev. and enlarged ed. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1998; 2nd rev. edition, 1998; a 3rd edition, substantively revised by May alone, was published in 2011); Theology of the Body: Genesis and Growth (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2010) He has published more…
    • Frank J. Moncher, Ph.D. – Dr. Frank Moncher received his Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina in 1992, following which he spent several years on faculty of the Medical College of Georgia, with a focus on Adolescent Intensive Services. In 2000 he moved to the Washington, DC area to teach at a graduate school of psychology which had a mission of integrating the science of psychology in the context of the Catholic Christian view of the human person. Concurrent with this, over the past 12 years he has consulted with 11 different religious orders and 4 dioceses to provide psychological evaluations of aspirants and candidates, as well as consulting with different diocesan marriage tribunals.His research interests include the integration of Catholic thought into psychotherapy, child and family development issues, and integrated models of assessment of candidates for the priesthood and religious life. Frank is published in Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, Adolescence, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Edification, and the Journal of Psychology and Christianity, as well as contributing to several book chapters on children, families, and religious issues.Since 2010, Dr. Moncher has worked for the Diocese of Arlington and Catholic Charities as a psychologist and consultant.  His…
    • Steve Soukup – Fellow in Culture and Economy Steve Soukup is the Vice President and Publisher of The Political Forum, an “independent research provider” that delivers research and consulting services to the institutional investment community, with an emphasis on economic, social, political, and geopolitical events that are likely to have an impact on the financial markets in the United States and abroad. Mr. Soukup has followed politics and federal regulatory policy for the financial community since coming to Washington in 1996, when he joined Mark Melcher at the award-winning Washington-research office of Prudential Securities. While at Prudential, he was part of the Washington team that placed first in Institutional Investor magazine’s annual analyst survey for eight years in a row. Mr. Soukup left Prudential with Mr. Melcher to join Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2000 and stayed there for two years, before leaving early in 2003 to become a partner at The Political Forum. While at Lehman, Mr. Soukup authored macro-political commentary and followed policy developments in the Natural Resources sector group, focusing on agriculture and energy policy. He also headed Lehman’s industry-leading analysis of asbestos litigation reform efforts. At The Political Forum, Mr. Soukup was initially the editor and junior partner,…
    • Dr. Pilar Calva, M.D. – Dr. Calva is a medical doctor specializing in Human Genetics with a Cytogenetics subspecialty from The University of Paris, France. In Paris, she was the under-study to the world-renowned Professor Jerome Lejeune, who is considered by some to be the father of modern genetics. In 1958, Lejeune discovered that an extra 21st chromosome is responsible for Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21. Lejeune dedicated his life tirelessly and unfailingly to defend the unborn, especially those with Down syndrome, testifying before scientific conferences and lawmakers. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II as the first President of the Pontifical Academy for Life. In Dr. Calva’s own words: When I arrived in France, I lived a life divided between faith and reason. I thought that from Monday to Saturday, I put on my white coat for my scientific tasks, and Sunday was the day I took off the white coat, put on my crucifix and dedicated myself to my religious duties. Professor Lejeune truly converted me, making me see that one can wear the white coat and the cross, at the same time. That is, one can fly with the wing of faith and the wing of reason. Inspired by the life…
    • Elyse M. Smith – Elyse M. Smith is an associate attorney with a northern Virginia law firm working in nonprofit and church law, estate planning, and civil litigation. Ms. Smith graduated magna cum laude from Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida, where she served on Law Review and was published in the Ave Maria International Law Journal. She was named “Most Dedicated Editor” for her work on Law Review. Ms. Smith earned her bachelor’s degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.  
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  >  Issue Briefs  >  Human Sexuality  >  Struggling New Jersey Teens: Are They Now Really Better Off?

Struggling New Jersey Teens: Are They Now Really Better Off?

Posted: September 17, 2013
By: Frank J. Moncher, Ph.D.
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A New Jersey legislative bill (S2278/A3371) entitled Protects Minors by Prohibiting Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation was recently signed into law by Governor Chris Christie, making New Jersey the second state to take such a stance on regulating psychotherapy.  The concern being addressed by such legislation is that young people who are struggling with same-sex attraction will be forced by their parents to undergo therapy aimed at changing their sexual inclinations.  Presumably, the belief is that these often-distressed youth are better off accepting their current perception and feelings, regardless of their long-term impact, rather than engaging in some perhaps-difficult self-examination which could lead to healing and more fulfilling options for their future.
 
Sadly, the foundation on which the legislation rests is riddled with inaccuracies and assumptions, and lacks thorough discernment of this complex issue.  At root, the legislation assumes that people are “born gay” and that efforts to change attractions or orientation are futile at best, and abusive at worst. 

In signing the bill, Governor Christie said that he looked “to experts in the field to determine the relative risks and rewards….  The American Psychological Association (APA) has found that efforts to change sexual orientation can pose critical health risks including, but not limited to, depression, substance abuse, social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem and suicidal thoughts….  I believe that exposing children to these health risks without clear evidence of benefits that outweigh these serious risks is not appropriate. Based upon this analysis, I sign this bill into law.” 

In uncritically accepting assertions that do not, in fact, reflect the complex conclusions found in social science research, the governor and legislature missed crucial information. To begin, the input of other experts that would provide needed balance and lead to greater understanding was ignored, despite the experts’ proactive effort to provide it.  Next, the input utilized was not considered in its entirety, as Peter Sprigg summarizes so well in his response to this decision.  The conclusion of the 2009 APA task force, in which the legislation was presumably grounded, actually states that “nature and nurture both play complex roles” in the development of same sex attraction, and that some people perceive they have benefitted from “sexual orientation change efforts” (SOCE).  Furthermore, the long-known fact that same-sex attraction is fluid/changing, rather than fixed, is confirmed by Ritch Savin-Williams, one of the nation’s leading experts on homosexually-oriented teens.  Savin-Williams reviewed evidence which demonstrates that as few as 11% of teens who identified as homosexual at a point in time, remained exclusively homosexual just one year later.  In other words, 89% of these teens are changing, with or without therapy.  These types of findings debunk any notion of there being a genetic basis for homosexuality, or that someone who believes he is homosexual at some point in his adolescence is permanently settled in his identity development.

The Real Issue

With mental health researchers, both gay-advocates and those holding more traditional views, documenting the lack of certainty about the origins and development of same-sex attraction, one wonders how entire state legislatures have gotten into the business of dictating permitted medical interventions. To be sure, there is no doubt that teens who experience same-sex attractions are at increased risk of a host of mental and emotional issues such as those reflected in the list above.  What is critical to understand is that these risks are best understood as co-occurring with the same-sex attractions necessarily, because the attractions are not congruent with the bio-physiology of the person having them.  In other words, when we go against our natural design, bad things happen. 

These risks are not occurring because a struggling youth is given an empathic ear by a trusted professional who is willing to hear about the family relational struggles and the peer rejection a youngster has experienced.  While there are accounts of sensational interventions using electric shock and sexual exposure right out of a scene from A Clockwork Orange, no serious licensed practitioner would engage in such unethical approaches. 

The real issue consistently returns to a vocal minority of people, who themselves (or a beloved family member or friend) are engaged in same-sex relationships, agitating for more acceptance.  One gay advocacy group leader said in a statement immediately after the signing of the bill that “It will protect young people from being abused by those they should trust the most, their parents and their doctors.”  The suggestion being made, that parents seeking help for children who struggle with same-sex attraction are somehow inflicting, or at least allowing, abuse, should raise some eyebrows; but it is printed indifferently alongside the other comments for and against the proposition.  In signing the bill, Governor Christie said that he “took into account concerns about the government ‘limiting parental choice’ in the treatment of their children,” but in the end allowed this to be trumped by the inaccurately-interpreted and imprecisely-quoted task force study from “the experts.”

So, in the end, the youth of New Jersey (like their California peers before them) are left less protected, following the passing of the “Protection” law:  less protected by their parents, who are now prohibited from helping them explore in a prudent, discerning way with a knowledgeable professional, the idea that they may be going through a painful yet resolvable developmental identity issue; and less protected by the mental health professional, who must now, by law, reinforce the poor lad’s confused state by only offering gay-affirming interventions, which may in the end solidify a life course that was only, in reality, a transitional skew. 

Our youth need time to explore and heal; particularly so those who are struggling, confused, distressed, or rejected.  And at times, this requires professional assistance from someone who respects and understands their dignity as God made them.

Human Sexuality
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A New Jersey legislative bill prohibiting attempts to change sexual orientation was recently signed into law by Governor Chris Christie, making New Jersey the second state to take such a stance on regulating psychotherapy. Sadly, the foundation on which the legislation rests is riddled with inaccuracies and assumptions, and lacks thorough discernment of this complex issue.
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