Court Deals Final Blow To Blue State’s Crackdown On Therapists Helping Kids Accept Their Gender

Religious liberty attorneys secured a legal victory for therapists who treat children struggling with gender confusion.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty secured a permanent order on Thursday from U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering requiring Michigan to stop enforcing its 2023 law that barred counselors from engaging in talk therapy aimed at helping children struggling with gender dysphoria, according to a press release by the legal organization. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that similar treatments are protected by the First Amendment.

Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

“Michigan’s crackdown on talk therapy pushed children with gender dysphoria toward harmful, irreversible drugs and surgeries; the harms of these procedures are so serious that 26 states and at least five European countries have banned or significantly restricted them,” Becket senior counsel Luke Goodrich — who served as the counselors’ lead attorney — told the DCNF. “Thankfully, the Constitution stopped Michigan’s attack on free speech, religious liberty, and children in need.”

Goodrich said he wasn’t surprised that Michigan backed down, stating that the First Amendment “clearly protects conversations between counselors and their clients, and Michigan had no constitutional basis for silencing them.”

“The court’s order protects every licensed Michigan professional who practices talk therapy, not just the counselors who brought this case. It’s a major victory for kids, counselors, and common sense,” Goodrich added.