CNN's Brooke Baldwin invited senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and “ex-gay” therapist and NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) representative Dan Pickup to discuss the law that was signed by California Governor Jerry Brown over the weekend banning harmful "ex-gay" reparative therapy for minors.

Pickup, who claims "ex-gay" therapy saved him after he was physically and emotionally abused as a child, was not happy to be challenged on his claims, which Baldwin and Cohen did proficiently.

The must-watch video, AFTER THE JUMP…

Pickup also announced that NARTH will be filing a lawsuit with conservative legal group The Liberty Counsel challenging the law, this week.

Liberty Counsel discusses the suit on its website:

“The California governor and legislature are putting their own preconceived notions and political ideology ahead of children and their rights to get access to counseling that meets their needs,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “A number of minors who have struggled with same-sex attraction have been able to reduce or eliminate the stress and conflicts in their lives by receiving counseling of their choice which best meets their needs and religious convictions. This bill will harm children, stress families, and place counselors in a catch-22, because they will be forced to violate their licensing ethical codes,” said Staver.
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“We are filing on behalf of mental health professionals who find themselves in a catch-22,” Staver said. Therapists have an ethical obligation to help clients deal with conflict. If a client is experiencing conflict between religious beliefs and same-sex attractions and wants to prioritize those beliefs over such attractions, the counselor is ethically obligated to directly help or refer for help. Under this law, the counselor will be forced to disregard the client's religious beliefs or change them. “This bill and the ethical codes of all of the licensing boards in California are on an inevitable collision course,” Staver said. “The licenses of countless mental health professionals hang in the balance.”

Watch the CNN segment, AFTER THE JUMP…