In a landmark decision issued Tuesday, March 31, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, ruling 8–1 that the law violates First Amendment protections of free speech.
The case, Chiles v. Salazar, centered on a 2019 Colorado law that prohibited licensed therapists from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the statute amounted to unconstitutional “viewpoint discrimination,” arguing the state could not allow one perspective while banning another in therapeutic conversations.
The Court sided with Colorado counselor Kaley Chiles, who challenged the law on free speech grounds, saying it restricted her ability to counsel clients consistent with their beliefs. The ruling reverses a lower court decision and requires further review under stricter constitutional scrutiny.
Chiles, not surprisingly, was represented by longtime anti-LGBTQ+ legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which has a history of seeking to ban marriage equality, prohibit equal protections for transgender people, and undo reproductive freedom and women’s rights. According to GLAAD, the SCOTUS decision does not invalidate Colorado law or any other state law protecting LGBTQ youth from the dangerous practice, though it may open them to additional legal challenges. It does not undo decades of research showing the harm and ineffectiveness of such practices. So-called conversion therapy remains medical malpractice and consumer fraud, and legal recourse remains for anyone harmed by it.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenting voice among all nine justices, including two other liberals. “To do anything else opens a dangerous can of worms, Jackson wrote. “It threatens to impair States’ ability to regulate the provision of medical care in any respect. It extends the Constitution into uncharted territory in an utterly irrational fashion. And it ultimately risks grave harm to Americans’ health and wellbeing.”
In remarks delivered from the bench, she called the ruling a “slippery slope” that could erode public health protections.
LGBTQ advocacy organizations swiftly condemned the decision.
“[This] reckless decision means more American kids will suffer,” said HRC President Kelley Robinson. “The Court has weaponized free-speech in order to prioritize anti-LGBTQ+ bias over the safety, health and well-being of children.
“So-called ‘conversion therapy’ is pseudoscience, not real therapy. It has been condemned by every mainstream medical and mental health association and harms families, traumatizes children and robs people of their faith communities. It is cruel and should never be offered under the guise of legitimate mental healthcare.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision to treat the dangerous practice of conversion therapy as constitutionally protected speech is a tragic step backward for our country that will put young lives at risk,” said Trevor Project CEO, Jaymes Black. “These efforts, no matter what proponents call them, no matter what any court says, are still proven to cause lasting psychological harm.”
Clearly, the decision has immediate and far-reaching implications. More than 20 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted similar bans on conversion therapy for minors.
For LGBTQ+ individuals and advocates across the country, the ruling marks a pivotal moment. Supporters of the decision frame it as a victory for free expression and religious liberty, while opponents warn it could weaken safeguards for vulnerable youth and reshape how states regulate mental health care – setting the stage for expected legal battles ahead in courts across the United States.
