The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit this week upheld a New Jersey law that bans so-called conversion therapy for youth.
The appellate court handed down its ruling Monday in Doe v. Governor of the State of New Jersey, brought by the family of a teen who was undergoing conversion therapy and who argued that the law interferes with their parental rights.
The law was instated in 2013, signed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie. It prohibits all licensed counselors from practicing methods that seek to change the sexual orientation of a client under age 18.
The opinion was handed down by a unanimous three-judge panel of Judges D. Brooks Smith, Thomas Vanaskie and Dolores Sloviter, who wrote the ruling. The court’s finding upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson in November 2013 that dismissed the case.
An attorney for the plaintiffs has signaled they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sloviter wrote that the state acted within its authority to “guard a general interest in children’s well-being.”
“The fundamental rights of parents do not include the right to choose a specific type of provider for a specific medical or mental-health treatment that the state has reasonably deemed harmful,” she added.
The Third Circuit issued a similar finding this past fall in another challenge to the New Jersey law.
Conversion therapy for minors is currently banned in New Jersey, California and Washington, D.C. Last week, President Obama called for a ban on conversion therapy.
Lawmakers last session introduced bills seeking to prohibit the practice in Pennsylvania but they did not gain traction before session ended.