In a groundbreaking victory for religious liberty and free speech, the State of Michigan has officially surrendered its effort to muzzle Catholic counselors who help children struggling with their biological sex – and has agreed to permanent court order protecting compassionate talk therapy.
“This is a major victory for children, counselors, and common sense,” said Luke Goodrich, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead attorney for the counselors, July 30.
“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.”
It was Goodrich – and his legal team at Becket – who secured the permanent order barring Michigan from enforcing its law that punished counselors who provide compassionate talk therapy to children struggling with their biological sex. Rather than continue defending the law in court, Michigan agreed that its counseling ban is unconstitutional as applied to any licensed professional who engages in therapy that consists exclusively of talking.
In Catholic Charities v. Whitmer, Becket represented counselors, including therapist Emily McJones, pictured, who provide compassionate talk therapy to children struggling with discomfort over their biological sex. These counselors help children address the underlying causes of their discomfort, alleviate their distress, and, if possible, embrace their bodies without resorting to harmful, irreversible medical interventions. This cautious approach is supported by the best available scientific evidence and reflected in recently enacted laws in dozens of states and several European countries. But in 2024, a new Michigan statute attempted to eradicate this life-affirming option, threatening dedicated counselors with professional ruin by revoking their licenses and imposing quarter-million-dollar fine if they refused to push children toward medical transition.
“Michigan is now admitting its law is unconstitutional,” said Goodrich. “It’s 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.”
Late last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in Catholic Charities that Michigan’s law likely violated the Constitution, becoming the first federal appeals court to halt a statewide counseling ban of this kind. The Supreme Court then ruled against a nearly identical Colorado counseling ban in Chiles v. Salazar, putting states on notice that they cannot censor compassionate counseling for children struggling with their biological sex. Faced with those losses, Michigan today waved the white flag, allowing counselors like Emily McJones to keep offering compassionate talk therapy to children in need.
Pictured: Lisa Veenstra, Counsellor with Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties and Emily McJones, Little Flower Counseling, Lansing.