Spanish Clinic Questioned About "Gay Cure"

Spanish officials are investigating a Barcelona health clinic for reportedly attempting to "cure" gay people.

They are looking into claims that health professionals at Policlinica Tibidabo clinic are giving "psychiatric treatment" and medicine to change sexual orientation, according to Agence France-Presse.

Gay rights organizations, especially in the Catalonia region, are rallying behind the investigation.

"It is totally unacceptable, in the 21st century, that health professionals are trying to treat homosexuality," said Antonio Guirado, secretary general of the Catalonia Gay and Lesbian Rights Association.

If investigators find health violations at the clinic, Policlincia Tibidabo may face fines or harsher penalties.

Gay marriage has been legal in Spain since 2005, and gay relationships have not been criminalized since the 1970s. Most gay rights activists in Spain consider the current government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, supportive of gay rights initiatives.