The Brief Illinois outlawed conversion therapy for minors in 2015, treating false promises of a "cure" as consumer fraud and allowing survivors to sue providers. Hundreds of thousands of children across the country have been told to change who they are, often through conversion therapy. What we know:As a teenager in the South, Jody’s family forced them into conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is a practice some still claim can change sexual orientation or gender identity. Illinois banned conversion therapy in 2015, and the law took effect the following year.