The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take a case that sought to overturn a New Jersey law banning conversion therapy — a medically discredited practice of attempting to change a child’s sexual orientation from gay to straight.

That means the New Jersey ban will remain.

Licensed therapists in New Jersey have been prohibited since 2013 from engaging in reparative or conversion therapy for minors.

Then-Gov. Chris Christie signed the law citing statements from the American Psychological Association that said the practice “can pose critical health risks including, but not limited to, depression, substance abuse, social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.”

But Liberty Counsel, a national religious legal organization, asked the nation’s highest court for a chance to prove New Jersey’s law violates the free speech rights of counselors who believe the treatment works.

Emboldened by the court’s ruling in June that found crisis pregnancy center owners had a First Amendment right not to refer women for abortions, Liberty Counsel intended to seek the same free speech argument for therapists, according to its Feb. 11 filing.

Garden State Equality, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy organization which had urged the high court to leave the law intact, praised the court’s action.

“In rejecting this case today, the Supreme Court recognized what every sensible and compassionate person across New Jersey and this country knows: anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy is dangerous, discredited malpractice," Garden State Equality Executive Director Christian Fuscarino said.

Fuscarino called the potential challenge "a stark reminder that the rights of LGBTQ people — even here in New Jersey — are constantly under attack.”

Sixteen states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have passed laws banning conversion therapy. New Jersey’s law would put in jeopardy any licensed counselor who uses the practice to treat minors. The law does not apply to clergy.

The American Psychiatric Association also has condemned the practice, which is “based on the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder.”

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.