Wisconsin conservatives push to undo ‘conversion therapy’ ban

An anti-LGBTQ+ legal group has sued Wisconsin after state leaders refused to roll back restrictions on so-called “conversion therapy” for minors.

Since 2024, Wisconsin has treated therapy marketed as “sexual orientation change efforts” as unprofessional conduct for licensed counselors, according to the Wisconsin Examiner.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, or WILL, which has also challenged policies allowing students to use preferred pronouns, filed the lawsuit after a professional licensing board declined to rescind its standards following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a Colorado ban on conversion therapy.

WILL and Wisconsin Family Action previously sent a letter to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who appoints members of the licensing board, demanding that the state abandon its restrictions in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down Colorado’s law banning the practice on the grounds that it was not viewpoint-neutral. The justices did not rule on the legitimacy of conversion therapy or bans on it.

Related: Colorado quickly rewrites & passes new conversion therapy ban to get around Supreme Court ruling

In the new lawsuit, attorneys for the institute argue the Wisconsin policy violates therapists’ constitutional rights because many counselors provide such services “as an exercise of their faith” to LGBTQ+ clients who voluntarily seek treatment, including counseling related to sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Wisconsin’s rule is materially indistinguishable from Colorado’s statute held to be viewpoint discrimination by SCOTUS,” said WILL Deputy Counsel Rebecca Furdek.

“When we notified the Evers administration of this fact, we were met with a blatant refusal to follow the Supreme Court holding, along with inflammatory, baseless rhetoric accusing WILL of ‘bullying’ children and Wisconsinites. However, Wisconsin counselors have every right to provide Christ-centered talk therapy to the clients who seek them out for that type of counseling.”

The lawsuit highlights the experiences of Terri Koschnick and Joy Buchman, licensed family therapists who say they provide faith-based counseling rooted in Christian beliefs.

“Government officials should not be allowed to police the private conversations I have with my clients who voluntarily seek out my advice as a Christian counselor,” Korschnick said. “They have no right to punish me for saying something they disagree with. That was again confirmed by our nation’s highest court.”

Related: Kids can be subjected to harmful 'conversion therapy,’ U.S. Supreme Court rules

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State officials expressed confidence that Wisconsin’s standards would survive the legal challenge. Evers rejected WILL’s earlier demand letter, and the governor’s office declined to comment on pending litigation to the Examiner.

Other professional advocates did not see merit in the legal challenge.

“I do not believe this lawsuit will succeed,” said Marc Herstand, executive director for the National Association of Social Workers Wisconsin chapter. “Wisconsin law clearly gives professions the authority to set their own Conduct Codes.”

Previous efforts to restrict conversion therapy in Wisconsin have already faced legal setbacks.

Last July, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that a legislative committee unlawfully blocked rules prohibiting conversion therapy by licensed professionals.