MADISON –Wisconsin Family Action is joining the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty in calling on Gov. Evers’ administration to immediately rescind MPSW §20.02 (25) which engages in the one-sided censorship squarely rejected by the United States Supreme Court in Chiles v. Salazar.
The Supreme Court’s ruling affirmed the free speech rights of counselors, found overly broad restrictions on talk therapy to be “viewpoint discrimination,” and unambiguously rebuked attempts by state and local governments to silence protected conversations in the counseling room.
President of Wisconsin Family Action, Daniel Degner says, “Banning talk therapy doesn’t protect children. It strips away a safe, evidence-based tool available to help kids navigate a deeply difficult season of life. The data clearly shows roughly 90% of children who experience gender dysphoria before puberty will naturally regain comfort with their biological sex if given time and appropriate support rather than being pushed toward irreversible drugs and procedures.”
Should Governor Evers choose to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling and fail to rescind this unconstitutional rule, WFA and WILL are prepared to pursue legal remedies. The Governor — along with the local governments engaged in this same viewpoint discrimination — would be wise to take note: a federal appeals court recently awarded nearly $1 million in attorney fees in a Florida case involving an unconstitutional talk therapy ban.
“We are grateful to the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty for representing Ms. Buchman in this critical case,” Degner concluded. “We look forward to a swift resolution that restores free speech in the counseling room and protects the rights of every Wisconsinite to seek the help they need.”
Additional Background:
• In every legislative session from 2017 through 2025, legislators have tried to enact nearly identical language to the now struck down Colorado law. Having failed to pass this policy through the Legislature, proponents turned to the administrative rules process to achieve through regulation what they could not attain through law.
• In 2020, the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board adopted rules making it unethical for mental health professionals to have conversations with young people that may reconcile their gender identity with their biological sex. Instead, the rule only allows conversations that push young people toward a gender identity different from their sex.
• The Legislature through the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules temporarily suspended MPSW §20.02 (25) twice. This action was subsequently challenged in a lawsuit by Governor Evers regarding three different legislative powers issues including the JCRAR suspension of rules.
• Since January 2025, MPSW §20.02 (25)) has carried the force of law, subjecting Wisconsin mental health professionals to ethics violations and potential license revocation for engaging in talk therapy with willing clients.
