The Member of Parliament for Ho West, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, has suggested that homosexuality could be corrected through medicine, arguing that hormonal changes have been identified as the underlying factor that influences a person’s sexual behaviour.

Speaking on the BBC about the passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, the lawmaker said some people may experience hormonal conditions that cause them to be attracted to people of the same sex and that such cases could be treated.

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“It can be corrected with medicine. If you have that, your hormones are drawing you towards (sic). It's happening here in Africa. I mean, we have holistic therapy,” he said.

He also rejected the argument that gay people are born that way, questioning the basis of such claims.

“Who born them in that way? You were born a man… No, we don't [accept that gay people were not born that way],” he questioned.

The Ho West MP compared the issue of homosexuality to other behaviours that he believes can be addressed through counselling.

“If you have a tendency to be drawn to stealing, you can be counseled not to steal,” he said.

Bedzrah further argued that people should live according to the cultural values of the society they belong to.

“Live, let me live, as others would say in Europe but your living, for me to live, should be in consonance with the environment that you belong to,” he said.

He said Ghana’s cultural disapproval of same-sex relationships could also lead to violent reactions from some members of the public.

“If a man is kissing another man and somebody else sees it outside, because our culture frowns on it, what will happen? If you are not careful, that man will stone the two of you,” he argued.

Bedzrah insisted that the anti-LGBTQ+ bill was therefore needed to prevent people from openly engaging in acts that conflict with Ghanaian cultural norms.

“To prevent that, we said let there be a law so that nobody will see you doing something against the cultural norm of the society,” he explained.

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He also questioned why people who identify as gay should not respect Ghanaian culture.

“Why don't they respect our culture? If you want to be gay, be gay forever. Don't bring it to our society,” he cautioned.

MAG/VPO

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