Courts Gut Michigan’s Therapy Gag

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After years of pushing a speech-policing “conversion therapy” ban, Michigan has now been forced by the courts to stand down and respect free speech and parental rights.

Story Snapshot

Michigan agreed in federal court to stop enforcing its ban on talk-based “conversion therapy” for minors after judges ruled it violates free speech.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said the law discriminated against counselors with traditional moral views, making their viewpoint illegal.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Colorado’s similar ban pushed Michigan to concede its law cannot stand as written.
The settlement protects licensed professionals who offer talk therapy that supports a child’s biological sex or traditional beliefs.

Michigan’s Ban Collides With the First Amendment

Michigan’s battle over “conversion therapy” began when Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bills 4616 and 4617 in 2023, making Michigan the 22nd state to ban this counseling for minors. The laws changed the state mental health code so licensed counselors could not offer therapy that tries to change a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity. In practice, the ban targeted traditional counselors who help kids live in line with their biological sex or religious beliefs. That set the stage for a major clash with the First Amendment.

Catholic Charities serving Jackson, Lenawee, and Hillsdale Counties, along with a psychologist, went to federal court to challenge the law. They argued the state had no right to punish licensed professionals whose therapy is made up of simple conversation rooted in faith and biology. In December 2025, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and ordered a preliminary injunction, blocking Michigan from enforcing the ban while the case continued. The court said the law was not just about medical standards; it was about silencing one side of a cultural debate.

Courts Rule Michigan’s Counseling Ban Is Viewpoint Discrimination

The Sixth Circuit’s two-judge majority was clear: Michigan’s law violated free speech by picking winners and losers in counseling rooms. Judge Raymond Kethledge wrote that the ban allowed speech on sexual orientation and gender identity only if it matched the government-approved view. If a counselor affirmed a child’s new gender identity, that was allowed; if the counselor instead helped the child accept their biological sex, that was banned. That is textbook viewpoint discrimination, which the First Amendment does not allow.

While one judge dissented and claimed the law was about medical safety, the majority said the state cannot hide censorship behind medical labels when the actual “treatment” is just talking. The case gained even more weight after the U.S. Supreme Court, in Chiles v. Salazar, ruled 8–1 that Colorado’s similar ban on talk-based “conversion therapy” raised serious free speech problems and could not be enforced as written. That ruling signaled that states cannot gag counselors simply because they do not support the latest gender ideology.

Michigan Waves the White Flag After Supreme Court Speaks

After the Supreme Court’s Colorado decision, Michigan officials effectively waved the white flag in federal court. In a stipulated order and final judgment, they agreed not to enforce their ban against licensed professionals whose therapy “consists exclusively of talking.” The district court then declared that, as applied to talk-only therapy, Michigan’s ban violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. In other words, the state’s attempt to control what counselors say to kids about sex and gender has been struck down for those speech-only settings.

Michigan halts enforcement of conversion therapy ban under court order https://t.co/8lFSBVh9kh

— Dan VM (@danrvm) July 31, 2026

The agreement does not erase every concern about other forms of “conversion therapy,” but it directly protects counselors, pastors with licenses, and Christian agencies who use ordinary talk therapy rooted in faith and traditional values. Families now have more freedom to seek counseling that aligns with their beliefs, without fearing the state will punish their therapist for helping a child resist gender ideology or same-sex pressures. For many conservatives, this marks a key victory against woke laws that tried to override parental authority and religious liberty in the name of “protection.”

What This Means for Parents, Counselors, and Other States

Michigan’s retreat is part of a larger national shift. Dozens of states passed “conversion therapy” bans in the last decade, sold as child-protection measures backed by medical groups. But courts are now asking a simple question: when the treatment is just words, does the government have the power to decide which beliefs can be spoken? The Supreme Court’s ruling and the Sixth Circuit’s decision both say no for talk therapy, and Michigan’s settlement shows states are starting to accept that limit.

For parents who worry about aggressive school gender policies and pressure on kids to transition, the Michigan outcome matters. It means they can seek counseling that helps children slow down, think clearly, and live in line with their families’ values without the counselor facing state punishment for “wrong” speech. It also warns other states that tried to lock in one-sided, pro-transition rules: if they target talk-only counseling, they are likely on a collision course with the First Amendment. The courts are reminding officials that the Constitution still shields free speech, even when it challenges fashionable ideology.