1 EVIDENCE REVIEW ON LGBT ISSUES Recruitment, Conversion Therapy, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity By Professor Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH Director, the Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The recent passage of laws criminalizing same sex behavior or identity among consenting adults, including laws criminalizing what has been termed “homosexual propaganda” have to varying degrees made arguments for these laws based on purported scientific evidence. In the case of the Bahati bill in Uganda signed into law by Uganda President Museveni in 2014, a request for a review of evidence on the origins of homosexuality in humans was requested by Museveni and provided prior to his signing the law. The document, entitled “Scientific Statement from The Ministry of Health on Homosexuality,” and dated February 10th, 2014, was tasked by the Ugandan President with answering two questions: 1) Is there a scientific / genetic basis for homosexuality? 2) Can homosexuality be learned and unlearned? The process for attempting to answer these questions was not reported by the committee, and after the release of the document, two scientists resigned from the committee in protest, stating that the findings had been manipulated and did not accurately report the committee’s findings. Nevertheless, President Museveni signed the bill into law. The White House Press Secretary issued a statement on February 24, 2013 noting that the legislation further criminalizing homosexuality in Uganda is a step backwards for freedom, justice and equal rights and will undermine public health, including efforts to address HIV. A health impact assessment of the legislation predicted that it would likely erode social capital, increase stigma, hinder care for those living with HIV, and have negative public health consequences (Semugoma et al., 2012).