Federal judge denies request for preliminary injunction against Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy

Judge Jane M. Beckering of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan recently denied a request for preliminary injunction from Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee, and Hillsdale Counties and an individual psychologist who sought to block the enforcement of Michigan’s state ban on the practice of conversion therapy while their lawsuit against the law proceeds in court, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel who filed a brief last August to keep the law in place. 

“The harms of conversion therapy on our children are well known and documented, which is why Governor Whitmer and health officials took action to protect their mental health,” Nessel said. “States have a duty to shield their residents, especially kids, from treatments proven to cause devastating harm, and I am glad the Court denied this request to block the enforcement of this critical law. My office will continue to work to dismiss this lawsuit to protect Michigan’s youth.”

The lawsuit challenges changes to the Michigan Mental Health Code, signed into law by Whitmer in 2023 and which took effect in February of 2024, to prohibit any Michigan-licensed mental health professional from engaging in conversion therapy with a minor. The plaintiffs allege that the law violates their due process, free speech, and free exercise rights – claims that Nessel firmly rejects.  

In her opinion, Judge Beckering found the plaintiffs have standing to bring their claims at this preliminary stage of the litigation but also found that they are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their individual arguments regarding due process, free speech, and free exercise rights violations noting, “The Michigan legislature acted rationally when it decided to protect the psychological wellbeing of its minors by preventing state-licensed health care providers from engaging in conversion therapy with them.”