German Health Minister Jens Spahn announced his plan on Tuesday to ban so-called gay conversion therapy nationwide. Although the practice is not as common in Germany as it is in other nations, it is still sometimes practiced in religious communities. “Homosexuality is not a disease and therefore does not require treatment,” said Spahn, presenting his findings after having consulted with an expert commission of 46 representatives from the field of politics and science on whether a ban would be advisable, legally and medically. Spahn added that despite being called “therapy,” the practice “makes you sick and is not healthy.” The idea behind conversion therapy is to reprogram the minds of young people — usually children or teenagers — to make them averse to the idea of gay sex or romance, via methods such as electroshock therapy and aversive conditioning techniques, many of which are considered mentally abusive by medical professionals.