Undercover Investigation Confirms Bachmann Clinic Provides Discredited, Damaging ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy

[kpete]

Source: Think Progress

BREAKING: Undercover Investigation Confirms Bachmann Clinic Provides Discredited, Damaging ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy
By Josh Dorner posted from ThinkProgress LGBT on Jul 8, 2011 at 9:06 pm

An undercover investigation from a staff member of the organization Truth Wins Out has revealed that the clinic run by Dr. Marcus Bachmann, husband of Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann, is providing discredited “ex-gay” reparative therapy. Dr. Marcus Bachmann has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, after a ThinkProgress report documenting his past comments referring to gays as ”barbarians” and an NBC News report that revealed Bachmann and Associates had taken $137,000 in federal Medicaid funds over the past five years despite Michele Bachmann’s strident anti-government stance. John Becker of Truth Wins Out, http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/2011/07/17519/ who went undercover at Bachmann & Associates, writes:


Based on my experiences at Bachmann & Associates, there can no longer be any doubt that Marcus Bachmann’s state- and federally-funded clinic endorses and practices reparative therapy aimed at changing a gay person’s sexual orientation, despite the fact that such “therapy” is widely discredited by the scientific and medical communities. It’s time for Michele and Marcus Bachmann to stop denying, dodging, and stonewalling. They owe it to all Americans to provide a full and honest explanation for their embrace of these dangerous and fraudulent practices.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/07/08/264546/breaking-undercover-investigation-confirms-bachmann-clinic-provides-discredited-damaging-ex-gay-therapy/

[aquart]

1. What happened to the children?

Why are these people sucking up federal money for this.

AND WHO IS KEEPING TRACK OF WHAT HAPPENS TO THEIR VICTIMS?

[boppers]

8. Which children do you refer to? eom

[aquart]

9. The ones put into their care.

[boppers]

17. Oh, the "fosterchildren".

They served as a temp house for girls with eating disorders. A local university had a program, and they signed up to be a temporary housing location for that program.

Nobody stayed for more than two years (most staying less than one), and it lasted from 1992 to 2000. No more than three girls at once.

They were a foster farm. This is a horrible, evil, thing.

If you haven't even been a foster kid, I'm not sure how to explain it, other than maybe explaining that you were a "product", and the "farm" was there to make money. They don't give a shit about you, any more than somebody running a chicken farm cares about the feelings of each chicken in their care.

If I ran a presidential debate, I'd ask her: "How many of these foster-children have decided to publicly support you?"

None of them have. Not a single fucking one.

edit: s/step/foster/g

[onehandle]

2. How long before we find out that this place was his personal dating service?

I would be shocked. Shocked I tell you.

[Dark]

21. Her flamboyant husband runs an ex-gay program and they foster 23 girls who likely had anorexia

or bulimia (sic). (Yes, I know there are other eating disorders, but those two cropped up in my mind).

I don't want to think about what kind of sick shit went on in that house.

[annm4peace]

3. thank god! MN activists had been trying to get an investigation for years

citizens and voters of MN have been trying to get these charlatans exposed for years and investigate by law enforcement to no avail. I hope it really happens now.

[aquart]

10. Medicaid fraud.

[beac]

4. Least surprising story in a while, but

nice to see Bachmann exposed for the quack he is. n/t

[EC]

5. So now Medicaid is paying for scam treatments?

Here's some of the waste that can be cut. They can also ask for the money back since this is not a real treatment, it's a scam. This will end up costing Medicaid more to pay for REAL treatment for the victims of this guy.

[Scottybeamer70]

6. Obviously.......

the "treatment" didn't work so well for him!

[juxtaposed]

7. i would not let him watch over young boys on so many levels..

that's what I was talking about with him a few days ago.

Creepy man to deal with kids of both sexes.......

[Hand_With_Eyes]

11. Hasn't Michelle noticed that her husband...

...is a flaming queen?

Is he supposedly 'cured' or something? Lordy, what a bizarre relationship this is. I bet they don't see the irony one bit.

[BR_Parkway]

13. Interestingly enough, all the foster kids were girls - seems an odd thing

where you are already raising several boys that you gave birth to in the same home. Was someone in the house more worried about the dad having access to troubled young men (like that Bishop was ordering) vs the teenage boys in the family having so many unrelated troubled young ladies in such close proximity?

[tomm2thumbs]

20. I did not know they were all girls

interesting to say the least

[No Elephants]

15. "Flaming queen?"

[Hand_With_Eyes]

24. Have you heard him speak?

Or seen him on TV? He is very campy, in a Rip Taylor kind of way.

No offense Rip...

[boppers]

27. He's straight.... -ish.

Don't "out" friends.
Don't "out" enemies.

Let him define himself.

[BR_Parkway]

28. I'm in the "out" enemies camp - sorry, if they want to be hypocrites they

need to find something else to lie about. When they want to stay in the closet and do things hurtful to the community, based on their own self hatred and fear that someone will suspect that they are? Fuck that, blast it loud and proud for them.

Someone who's keeping things quiet but is an ally or at least does no harm (thinking Anderson Cooper types) - I totally respect their choice to say what they want when they want.

[lunatica]

23. We have respect for the gay community in DU

We also have a lot of GLBT member here who we support completely.

[silenttigersong]

12. Bachman s Clinic

Questions to ask,if medicaid does not pay for alternative health care such as acupuncture ,should there not be a recovery of federal funds from the Bachman Clinic,consider the damage that has been done to the "patients"esp if they were teenagers or tweens.I would love to hear from expd mental health practitioners on this.

[blkmusclmachine]

14. They use ElectroShock Therapy and other physical abuses ?

Let's see the videos, "doctor."

[No Elephants]

16. This should clinch the Republican nomination for her.

Mama Grisly.

[deacon]

18. Calomedy Jane of all people being part operator of mental health clinic. Unbelievable. n/t

[Politicalboi]

19. How is this different

Than religious organizations? And true science doesn't stop the Bachmann's anyway.

[lunatica]

22. In my view she is no longer just amusingly stupid anymore.

She's officially a monster now.

[alp227]

25. which only proves our need to GET OUT AND VOTE in 2012

to prevent America from sliding into a borderline theocracy

[sarcasmo]

26. Kick, keep these religious nut jobs out of the White House.