WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected over the objections of three conservative justices a Christian therapist’s free speech challenge to a Washington state ban on so-called conversion therapy aimed at changing a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Favored by some conservatives, the widely criticized practice is aimed at encouraging gay or lesbian minors to change their sexual orientations and transgender children to identify as the gender identities assigned to them at birth. Washington is one of 26 states that have barred or restricted such therapy for minors, the state’s lawyers say.
The court’s decision not to take up the case means the law remains intact.
