Religious liberty attorneys achieved a legal victory on Thursday, July 31st, 2026, when U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering issued a permanent order requiring Michigan to stop enforcing its 2023 law that barred counselors from engaging in talk therapy aimed at helping children struggling with gender dysphoria.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented the therapists, secured the order. The legal group cited a March Supreme Court ruling affirming that similar treatments are protected under the First Amendment.

Luke Goodrich, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for the counselors, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Michigan’s crackdown "pushed children with gender dysphoria toward harmful, irreversible drugs and surgeries; the harms of these procedures are so serious that 26 states and at least five European countries have banned or significantly restricted them."

Goodrich added, "Thankfully, the Constitution stopped Michigan’s attack on free speech, religious liberty, and children in need." He expressed no surprise at Michigan’s retreat, stating that the First Amendment "clearly protects conversations between counselors and their clients, and Michigan had no constitutional basis for silencing them."

The court’s order protects all licensed Michigan professionals who practice talk therapy, not just those involved in this case. Goodrich called the ruling "a major victory for kids, counselors, and common sense."

Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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