Dr. Alfred Freedman: 1917-2011

Dr. Alfred M. Freedman has died at the age of 94.  He led the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 when it declared homosexuality was not a mental illness.  Immediately upon winning election as president of the APA, he threw his support behind a resolution drafted by Robert L. Spitzer of Columbia University, removing homosexuality from the list of disorders.  On December 15, 1973, the Board of Trustees of the APA adopted the resolution which read in part:

“by itself, homosexuality does not meet the criteria for being a psychiatric disorder.’’ It went on: “We will no longer insist on a label of sickness for individuals who insist that they are well and demonstrate no generalized impairment in social effectiveness.’’

The resolution also called for an end to discrimination against gays in housing and employment and urged state and local governments to pass laws decriminalizing homosexuality.  It took until 2003 for the Supreme Court to do that, and many of those laws are still on the books. 

Dr. Freedman said of this important moment in history:  “I felt at the time that that decision was the most important thing we accomplished.’’