Catholic counselors sue Michigan over conversion therapy ban

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A group of Catholic therapists is arguing in a lawsuit in federal court that Michigan’s recent ban on conversion therapy for minors limits their ability to counsel children with gender identity issues.

Emily Jones, a Lansing Catholic counselor, and Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale counties filed the lawsuit against state officials on Friday, July 12. They claim the law banning conversion therapy — a widely discredited practice that attempts to change an LGBTQ person’s sexual orientation or gender identity — violates the rights to free speech and free exercise of religion.

“Michigan’s attempt to shut down compassionate, professional counselors flies in the face of the Constitution, hard evidence and common sense,” said Luke Goodrich, vice president and managing attorney at Becket Law. “The Constitution does not allow the government to tell people what they can and cannot say – especially when the government is depriving vulnerable children and families of the counseling they desperately want to receive.”

Related: A ban on conversion therapy in Michigan would protect LGBTQ children, advocates say

The plaintiffs are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit legal group dedicated to “defending religious liberty.” Becket has successfully litigated several religious liberty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including a case in which Philadelphia rejected a contract because Catholic Social Services refused to accept same-sex couples as foster parents. The group also won a case in which Hobby Lobby failed to offer contraception to its employees.

The lawsuit names Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 33 other state officials. The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Michigan became the 22nd state to ban conversion therapy for minors when Whitmer, who called the practice an “appalling practice,” signed the law last year.

The law prohibits mental health professionals from engaging in practices intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including attempts to “reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward a person of the same sex.”

However, it makes an exception for gender reassignment surgery by allowing counseling “that provides acceptance, support, or understanding” as long as it “does not aim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” Counselors who violate the law can lose their licenses or be fined up to $250,000.

The lawsuit argues that this is an “attempt to control the consultants’ free speech.”

Plaintiffs Jones and Catholic Charities hold religious beliefs that “human biological sex is God-given” and that “marriage is a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman,” the lawsuit says. Through talk therapy, they have helped clients who questioned their gender identity “change their behavior and gender expression.”

But the new law makes this type of counseling illegal in Michigan.

“Instead of allowing counselors to help children explore underlying factors that may be contributing to their plight and help them accept and embrace their biological sex, HB 4616 forces counselors to ‘reinforce’ children in the belief that they were born in the wrong body and help them undergo permanent, life-altering medical procedures that many will later regret,” the 33-page complaint states.

The lawsuit argues that Michigan’s law violates free speech, due process and free exercise of religion because it targets religious expression and “interferes with the right of parents” to raise their children in religious beliefs.

Related: Michigan ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors goes to governor

Numerous studies have shown that conversion therapy is ineffective and harmful, leading to depression, anxiety and a higher risk of suicide. The latest guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health also suggest that few teenagers regret gender transition, but they should undergo a thorough psychological evaluation before pursuing medical treatment.

According to the Trevor Project, about 10% of LGBTQ youth in Michigan reported being threatened with conversion therapy, while another 5% said they had already faced it.

“Conversion therapists abound across the country, and many of them use their licenses and credentials to legitimize the dangerous and unethical practices they seek to impose on vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth,” Casey Pick, director of law and policy at the Trevor Project, said in a statement last year.

Although conversion therapy is banned in many states, some laws have been challenged in court. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to take up the case of a Washington-based family counselor who argued that a ban prevented him from talking to young clients about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Other efforts in Michigan to expand protections for LGBTQ people have also been challenged in court.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled two years ago that sexual orientation is protected under the state’s Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act, but that decision followed lawsuits from a Catholic church, a Christian health care provider and a Catholic school fighting for religious freedom.

A hearing in the conversion therapy lawsuit is scheduled to take place later this year.