In Tingley v. Ferguson, (WD WA, Aug. 30, 2021), a Washington federal district court dismissed First Amendment challenges by a family therapist to a Washington state statute that prohibits licensed counselors in treating minors from engaging in “conversion therapy” aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity. The court held that performing conversion therapy is “conduct”, not speech. According to the court, the law still allows therapists to discuss the option of conversion therapy by someone else– including someone within the exception for practitioners operating under the auspices of religious organizations. The court also rejected plaintiff’s religious free exercise argument, saying in part:
[T]he object of the Conversion Law is not to infringe upon or restrict practices because of their religious motivation…. Plaintiff is free to express and exercise his religious beliefs; he is merely prohibited from engaging in a specific type of conduct while acting as a counselor.