WA AG leads 18 states to defend conversion therapy ban for minors
SEATTLE - Washington State Attorney General, Nick Brown, led a group of states in a court coalition to defend a Michigan law that bans licensed health professionals from practicing conversion therapy on minors.
Michigan's law bans licensed health professionals from practicing conversion therapy – a harmful practice that attempts to change one's gender identity or sexual orientation – but has recently been challenged in court due to a lawsuit from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
What we know:
Washington led the District of Columbia and 18 other states in an amicus brief, supporting the current Michigan law against conversion therapy.
The brief argues in favor of Michigan's ban, stating that conversion therapy puts young people at risk of suicide and depression, is not an effective treatment and is below the standard for mental health care.
Washington is one of 27 states and two territories to ban conversion therapy. The 52-page brief based the state's arguments on the First Amendment's inability to protect ineffective mental health practices, the state's history of regulating professional standards of care, and overturning the ban may cause further consequences for states regulating their own professional practice standards.
The states and territories alongside Washington on the brief are CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, ME, MD, MN, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OR, RI, VT, WI and DC.
The brief can be read here.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.
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