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Wisconsin's Supreme Court made way for the state to stop professional counselors from engaging in so-called "conversion therapy."
LGBTQ+ youth in the state will be protected from this damaging and discredited intervention.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a legislative committee unlawfully blocked rules prohibiting so-called “conversion therapy” by licensed professionals, clearing the way for a state ban on the widely discredited practice, even as thousands of LGBTQ+ youth nationwide remain at risk.
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In a 4-3 decision in Evers v. Marklein, the justices concluded that the committee exceeded its constitutional authority when it prevented Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administrative rules from taking effect. Those rules classify conversion therapy as unprofessional conduct for licensed therapists, counselors, and social workers. The ruling immediately reinstates the ban in Wisconsin, although it does not apply to religious organizations or individuals who are exempt from licensure.
Related: Wisconsin Supreme Court mulls veto of conversion therapy ban
The practice, which encompasses attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, has been condemned as ineffective and harmful by every major U.S. medical and mental health association. Survivors frequently describe lifelong trauma, depression, anxiety, and elevated suicide risk.
“This decision is a powerful step in the right direction towards ending the harmful practice of conversion therapy—a step that required incredible advocacy for over seven years by our community members and partner organizations like NASW-Wisconsin,” said Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, the state’s only statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights group. “We also still have more work to do. A bill banning conversion therapy by all licensed professions passed through the legislature and signed by the governor would be an even more powerful step. Wisconsin State Senate Bill 324 would do exactly that, and I look forward to seeing it become Wisconsin law.”
Related: Supreme Court to decide whether states can protect LGBTQ+ youth from conversion therapy
Megin McDonell, former executive director of Fair Wisconsin, added, “I am so grateful for all the people who fought for this win without giving up for so many years—from the survivors who shared their heartbreaking stories over and over again, to community members and allies in the Capitol and throughout the state—I hope you can see that you made a difference.”
The Human Rights Campaign also celebrated the ruling.
“So-called ‘conversion therapy’ is a dangerous, discredited practice that has no place in Wisconsin or any state in the country,” Brandon Wolf, HRC’s national press secretary, told The Advocate in a text message. “Bans on conversion therapy exist to protect LGBTQ+ children from harm — period. While these practices have effectively been prohibited for more than a year already, the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision today stops the state legislature from resuming past attempts to prevent the ban from being enforced. This is a win for LGBTQ+ children across Wisconsin who, like all kids, deserve supportive, affirming environments to live and grow.”
While Wisconsin’s reinstated rule marks a significant advance, national data underscores how uneven protections remain for LGBTQ+ youth. According to the Movement Advancement Project, only 22 states plus the District of Columbia have laws fully prohibiting licensed health care providers from subjecting minors to conversion therapy. Another five states and one territory restrict, but do not entirely prohibit, the practice.
Eighteen states and four U.S. territories have no laws at all addressing conversion therapy. In five additional states — Indiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina — state laws or court rulings prevent local governments from enacting protections.
Overall, just 49 percent of LGBTQ youth ages 13-17 live in states with full bans on conversion therapy for minors, according to MAP data.
Related: Kentucky bans conversion therapy for youth as Gov. Andy Beshear signs 'monumental' order
The patchwork of laws means that many young people remain vulnerable to exploitation. Wisconsin’s ruling comes barely a week after a Virginia court reached the opposite conclusion, ordering that licensed counselors there be allowed to engage minors in talk-based conversion therapy.
A Henrico County Circuit Court judge approved a consent decree June 4, announced publicly July 1, allowing John and Janet Raymond, two counselors from Front Royal, to resume services aimed at changing minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity.
The ruling effectively guts Virginia’s 2020 law prohibiting licensed professionals from practicing conversion therapy on minors.
Even in states with bans, the practice persists. The Trevor Project’s 2023 report, It’s Still Happening, documented over 1,320 conversion therapy practitioners across 48 states and the District of Columbia, including more than 600 licensed professionals and over 700 ministerial or religious providers.
“These findings are almost certainly an underrepresentation,” the report warned, highlighting that many practitioners have moved underground or altered language in advertising to evade detection and legal consequences.
Related: S.C. attorney general tells state's capital city to drop its conversion therapy ban
The Trevor Project also reported that 15 percent of LGBTQ+ young people nationwide have been threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy, including nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth. Many cite fear of conversion therapy as a reason for avoiding necessary mental health care.
Moreover, the practice incurs a significant economic burden. A 2022 study cited by The Trevor Project found that conversion therapy and its related harms cost the U.S. economy an estimated $9.23 billion annually.
Wisconsin’s ruling comes just months before the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors. The Colorado case, brought by licensed counselor Kaley Chiles, argues that the state’s law violates her First Amendment rights to free speech and religious freedom. Chiles contends that, while she doesn’t promise clients she can “solve” issues of sexual orientation or gender identity, her counseling sometimes touches on “Christian values about human sexuality and the treatment of their own body.”
Related: South Carolina city caves to Republican attorney general's demands to lift ban on conversion therapy
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Chiles’s claims, ruling that Colorado’s law targets professional conduct, not protected speech. But Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh have previously signaled interest in hearing challenges to such laws, dissenting last year when the court declined to review a similar ban in Washington state.
The Supreme Court’s eventual decision could have sweeping implications for conversion therapy bans nationwide, particularly laws regulating the speech of licensed professionals.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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