Split Sixth Circuit Parses Michigan’s Conversion Therapy Ban

A Sixth Circuit panel Thursday appeared divided on whether Michigan’s gender and sexuality conversion therapy ban for minors should stand while an underlying challenge is litigated.

In more than an hour of hypothetical-filled arguments, the judges largely focused on whether the US Constitution’s free-speech guarantees pose problems for the practice, which advocates say is a useful therapeutic tool for LGBTQ+ children who desire a change and opponents decry as widely discredited.

The arguments somewhat tracked with the ones the US Supreme Court held two weeks ago in a case about Colorado’s law, including with references to psychological authorities considering being ...