Tennessee bill would allow counselors to deny services

(AP) — A bill that would allow mental health counselors to turn away patients based on their religious beliefs and personal principles has passed in the House in Tennessee, the latest state to introduce measures that opponents say result in legalized discrimination against gays, bisexuals and transgender people.

If it is signed into law, Tennessee would be the only state to allow counselors to refuse to treat patients based on their own belief system, said Art Terrazas, Director of Government Affairs for the American Counseling Association.

The House amended that language to allow counselors in private practice to refuse to treat a client and provide services relating to "goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselors or therapist."

The Tennessee Equality Project, which supports gay rights, condemned the House passage of the bill and called on the governor to veto the legislation.