US EditionCourt blocks Michigan ban on conversion therapy on free speech grounds
The court ruled the ban violated therapists' First Amendment rights by discriminating based on viewpoint, blocking enforcement and setting aside a lower court decision.
- On Wednesday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Michigan's ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors, setting aside a lower court ruling and granting a preliminary injunction sought by Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties.
- The Michigan Legislature and governor enacted the law in 2023, with Democratic-controlled Michigan Legislature passing the ban and Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan, signing it while calling conversion therapy horrific.
- The court's majority, led by Judge Raymond Kethledge, found the law discriminates based on viewpoint, with Judge Joan Larsen joining, while Judge Rachel Bloomekatz dissented, urging waiting for Supreme Court action.
- The court's ruling changes the enforcement landscape for counselors and licenses as therapists face potential license loss, and more than 20 states have similar laws affecting broader practitioner risks.
- The decision arrives more than two months after the U.S. Supreme Court heard related Colorado case arguments, while LGBTQ+ rights advocates cite research linking conversion therapy to suicide and depression risks.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Sixth Circuit Blocks Michigan’s Conversion Therapy Ban on Free Speech Grounds
A federal appeals court blocked Michigan’s 2023 ban on counseling for minors that aims to dissuade patients from pursuing a so-called gender transition, declaring it violates the First Amendment rights of therapists. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit voted 2-1 on Dec. 17 to issue a preliminary injunction temporarily halting the state law in Catholic Charities v. Whitmer. This kind of counseling, sometimes cal…
The Herald Palladium
Michigan AdvanceFederal appeals court gives Catholic groups new chance to overturn Michigan’s conversion therapy ban
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision along ideological lines to grant an injunction to Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties, who sued in 2024 to overturn the state’s ban on LGBTQ+ conversion…
Excellent Sixth Circuit Ruling Against Michigan Ban on Talk Therapy
In a ruling yesterday (in Catholic Charities v. Whitmer), a divided Sixth Circuit panel ruled that therapists who “offer counseling in the form of ‘talk therapy’”—“literally, spoken words and nothing more”—are entitled to a preliminary injunction against a Michigan law that would ban such counseling for minors if that counseling “seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Associated Press News
Court blocks Michigan ban on conversion therapy on free speech grounds
A federal appeals court has blocked Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy for minors who are LGBTQ+, declaring it violates the First Amendment rights of therapists and counselors.
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