Boards who govern licensing requirements for counseling professionals should not "regulate away" the rights of families to act in accord with their conscience or their religion. This ban on reparative counseling constitutes infringement on religious freedom. 

• Parents are closest to their children’s challenges and they are in the best position to identify solutions and to make healthcare decisions involving the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of their children.
   
• Under Virginia law, parents have the fundamental right to make decisions regarding the upbringing, education and care of their children.
   
• Some young people may have attractions they desire to change or moderate. Others may simply desire counseling to live a chaste life.  In either instance, there should be options for families to make informed decisions.
   
• A ban would deny families the religious freedom to seek counseling aligned with their faith.