So-called ‘conversion therapy’ for minors remains banned in Washington state after the US Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge.
The court made the decision to not hear the case of Tingley v. Ferguson after two lower courts previously rejected Brian Tingley’s challenge, upholding the law to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for minors.
The case was brought forward by Tingley, a licensed family and marriage counsellor who claimed that SB 5722 impinged on his First Amendment rights of freedom of speech.
SB 5722 is a state law, enacted in 2018, that protects those under the age of 18 from ‘conversion therapy’, which is typically defined as any attempt at changing or suppressing a person’s sexuality or gender identity.