Federal judge temporarily maintains Michigan's ban on LGBTQ+ "conversion therapy" for minors
(CBS DETROIT) — A federal judge has denied a request for a preliminary injunction against a Michigan law banning the use of what is called "conversion therapy" on behalf of LGBTQ+ minors.
Judge Jane M. Beckering of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan gave her injunction decision Tuesday in the case of Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties along with licensed therapist Emily McJones, who sued state officials over the law. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a press release Friday on the development of the case.
The injunction request was intended as a temporary halt to the therapy ban, pending a later decision.
"My office will continue to work to dismiss this lawsuit to protect Michigan's youth," Nessel said in response.
The Michigan Mental Health Code, which took effect in February 2024 via House Bill 4616 of 2023, prohibits any Michigan-licensed mental health professional from providing conversion therapy to a minor.
Conversion therapy is often described as an approach intended to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity; the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has said such interventions "lack scientific credibility and clinical utility."
The Catholic Charities organization and McJones alleged that the 2024 law violated their due process, free speech and free exercise of rights, and sought to prohibit its enforcement.
Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties has a 60-year history in its community. They say they provide a range of individual and family counseling services along with foster parent orientation and child advocacy services. The agency's service area is within the Catholic Diocese of Lansing.
