TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Opponents of a bill that would bar licensed therapists in New Jersey from trying to convert minors from gay to heterosexual say it would infringe on the rights of parents.

A state Senate committee took testimony Monday from advocates on both sides.

Those who want the bill include people who say they went through therapies that included electric shocks and telling them that they are “abominations.”

They also point to professional groups who say the attempts to convert people are harmful.

But people speaking for some conservative groups say the law should not tell parents what’s appropriate for their children.

California last year adopted a ban on so-called “conversion therapy.”

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