Rep. Sara Hannan, a Juneau Democrat, speaks to the state House Health and Social Services committee Thursday afternoon in support of a bill she sponsors that would ban licensed practitioners from providing conversion treatment to minors or vulnerable adults in the state of Alaska. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Rep. Sara Hannan, a Juneau Democrat, speaks to the state House Health and Social Services committee Thursday afternoon in support of a bill she sponsors that would ban licensed practitioners from providing conversion treatment to minors or vulnerable adults in the state of Alaska. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Conversion therapy survivors advocate for banning practice in Alaska

Invited testimony given for Rep. Sara Hannan’s bill.

This article references suicide. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available to call or text 24/7.

Levi Foster of Anchorage said it’s taken him decades to recover from the “emotional abuse and manipulation” he experienced while he was subjected to conversion therapy, the largely discredited practice that attempts to change a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

He said that experience is what led him, and other survivors and advocates, to speak in front of the state House Health and Social Services committee Thursday afternoon in support of a bill sponsored by Rep. Sara Hannan, a Juneau Democrat, that would ban licensed physicians, psychiatrists and other “practitioners of the healing arts” from providing conversion treatment to minors or vulnerable adults in the state of Alaska.

“I was told I was broken, and needed to be fixed, and would be unlovable living a sad, lonely life,” he said, virtually.

Currently, more than 20 states and the District of Columbia have placed bans on conversion therapy for minors. Hannan told the committee passing this bill in Alaska would help address the high suicide rates among Alaska’s LGBTQ+ youth.

“This is an area I believe we can make inroads in reducing the harm to LBGTQ+ youth who exhibit the most at-risk factors in suicidal crisis in our youth,” she said.

According to a 2020 report by Alaska’s health department, suicide was the leading cause of death for teens over 15 years old in the state, and Alaska’s adolescent suicide rate has consistently been around three times higher than the national average in recent years.

Dustin Morris, Alaska area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, spoke to the committee and expressed the foundation’s support for the bill and said it aligns with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s pro-child values.

Morris said the state’s suicide rate continues to go up at a rapid pace and pointed to 2021 statistics that found that year to include the highest number of suicides in the state on record.

“One in eight Alaska children who identify as LGBTQ+ attempted suicide within the last year — that’s a lot,” he said. “More can do more to support our youth and adults, our vulnerable population, and this bill does just that.”

Another advocate and survivor of conversion therapy, Mathew Shurka, shared his story of conversion therapy, calling it “artificial, humiliating and demeaning.”

Shurka, who leads a campaign advocating for conversion therapy survivors with the National Center of Lesbian Rights, urged the passing of the bill, arguing it would protect the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth in Alaska.

Committee members Rep. Jesse Sumner, a Wasilla Republican, and Rep. Zack Fields, an Anchorage Democrat, expressed confusion over the bill’s language, which they characterized as broad and said could be interpreted to unintentionally include placing a ban on gender-affirming therapy.

Fields recommended more clarifying language to ensure the bill targets conversion therapy specifically.

The bill was set aside for future hearings.

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire 
Dustin Morris, Alaska area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, speaks to the state House Health and Social Services Committee Thursday afternoon in support of a bill that would ban licensed practitioners from providing conversion treatment to minors or vulnerable adults in the state of Alaska.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Dustin Morris, Alaska area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, speaks to the state House Health and Social Services Committee Thursday afternoon in support of a bill that would ban licensed practitioners from providing conversion treatment to minors or vulnerable adults in the state of Alaska.

More in News

A male sea otter pup, estimated at 2 weeks old, was rescued near Homer and admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center rehabilitation program on June 23, 2025, in Seward, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
Seward’s SeaLife Center admits 2 seal pups, 1 orphaned otter

The three pups join the Alaska SeaLife Center’s ‘growing’ patient list

Alaska Seaplane pilot Vance Tilley stands in front of the Piatus PC-12 in Klawock on June 23 during the inaugural trip of the new service between Juneau, Ketchikan and Klawock. (Photos by Gemini Waltz Media/courtesy Alaska Seaplane)
New Juneau-Ketchikan nonstop flight service launches

The flight leaves Juneau at 3:45 p.m., and the trip lasts 1 hour 25 minutes

Danial Roberts, an employee at Viking Lumber Company, looks out at lumber from a forklift in Klawock, Alaska. (Courtesy of Viking Lumber Company)
Threads of the Tongass: The future of pianos and the timber industry

Timber operators say they are in crisis and unique knowledge, products will be lost

Suicide Basin as of 10:01 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2025, taken by a U.S. Geological Survey camera at the basin entrance facing northeast, into the basin. (Screenshot from National Weather Service Juneau page)
Glacial lake outburst swells Salmon River near Hyder

The isolation of Salmon River limits the impact of flooding

Kahyl Dybdahl, left, and Bronze Chevis eat an egg sandwich breakfast before school at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
School board allocates extra state funds

More state funds available, but funding issues and federal uncertainty abound

Max Webster stands with Lemon Creek Correctional Center staff in front of new control tower on Tuesday, July 9, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
A towering accomplishment for new Eagle Scout

Max Webster honored at Firearms Training Center Control Tower ribbon-cutting ceremony

Andy Engstrom (left) uses bitcoin to buy lemonade and cookies from business owner Denali Schijvens (right) on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Alaska’s 1st Bitcoin conference held in Juneau

State leaders discuss integrating Bitcoin in Alaska energy, investment and universities

Most Read