The Democrat-run state of Michigan agreed on Thursday to end its prohibition on licensed therapists providing counseling to children struggling with issues related to sexual orientation and gender dysphoria.
“This is a major victory for children, counselors, and common sense,” Luke Goodrich, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for the counselors, said in a statement. “Kids who are hurting deserve compassion, not a one-way ticket to harmful drugs, hormones, and surgery. Now counselors can offer compassionate counseling without fearing that state bureaucrats will come knocking.”
Known as Catholic Charities v. Whitmer, the case dealt with several Michigan-based counselors’ challenge to state laws barring them from engaging in talk therapy with minor clients facing discomfort with their sex. The challengers argued that such a prohibition violated their First Amendment rights.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals handed plaintiffs a favorable ruling in the case late last year, which was subsequently followed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Chiles v. Salazar decision. In Chiles, the high court ruled that a similar Colorado law “regulates speech based on viewpoint, and the lower courts erred by failing to apply sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny.”
“[T]he First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country. It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth. However well-intentioned, any law that suppresses speech based on viewpoint represents an ‘egregious’ assault on both of those commitments,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for an 8-1 majority.
In Thursday’s stipulated order, Biden-appointed Judge Jane Beckering noted that, in light of the 6th Circuit and Supreme Court’s rulings, the Catholic Charities plaintiffs have “demonstrated success on the merits” of their claim that Michigan’s laws represent an unlawful viewpoint-based restriction on speech. She further observed that the plaintiffs have “established irreparable injury and that an injunction is in the public interest.”
As such, both parties agreed to the stipulated order and final judgement, which prohibits Michigan from enforcing the talk therapy ban against counselors in the state.
“The Court hereby DECLARES that HB 4616, as applied to licensed mental health professionals engaged in therapy that consists exclusively of talking, violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Beckering wrote. “The Court hereby PROHIBITS Defendants, their successors, agents, and all those acting in concert with them from enforcing HB 4616 against licensed professionals who engage in therapy that consists exclusively of talking.”
The court’s permanent injunction will take effect immediately, according to the order.
“Michigan is now admitting its law is unconstitutional,” Goodrich said. “Its surrender confirms that the Constitution and the best available science are on the side of counselors who help children find peace with their bodies. States still trying to censor that care should take note.”
The Great Lakes State’s agreement to end enforcement of the contested laws is a noticeably different path taken than that of neighboring Wisconsin. Months after the Supreme Court handed down its Chiles ruling, Democrat Gov. Tony Evers doubled down on seemingly defying the decision.
“I have no intention of repealing the ban on … conversion therapy on kids. Period. End of story. And no question,” Evers said during a June “Pride Flag Raising” event.
