The American Medical Association will throw the weight of the US medical establishment behind state and federal efforts to ban the scientifically discredited practice of attempting to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

"It is clear to the AMA that the conversion therapy needs to end in the United States given the risk of deliberate harm to LGBTQ people," wrote AMA board member Dr. William E. Kobler.  "Conversion therapy has no foundation as scientifically valid medical care and lacks credible evidence to support its efficacy or safety," he added.

This means that America's top medical group will begin to produce model legislation that will be distributed to state-level organizations (medical licensing in the US happens at the state level), while simultaneously working on a federal effort. 

The news was welcomed by campaigners, especially the Trevor Project which provides crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and counseling to LGBT+ youth age 25 and under.

"Historically, medical professionals have contributed to the stigmatization of LGBTQ individuals, so the AMA's active involvement in LGBTQ health advocacy is incredibly important," said The Trevor Project's medical director Dr. Alexis Chavez.  "The AMA's support for ending conversion therapy furthers the work that The Trevor Project is doing across the country with our 50 Bills 50 States campaign to protect LGBTQ youth from this dangerous and discredited practice."

A recent study of 27,000 transgender people found that those who were subjected to conversion therapy before the age of ten were four times more likely to attempt suicide than trans people who were never exposed to efforts to change their gender identity.