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48m ago

Supreme Court Signals Skepticism of Colorado Ban on Youth Conversion Therapy

The arguments tested whether states can treat talk therapy as regulable medical conduct rather than protected speech.

Demonstrators protest against conversion therapy outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, as the Court hears oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a landmark case on conversion therapy, on October 7, 2025.
Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor and a Christian, is suing Colorado over its Prohibit Conversion Therapy for A Minor law. She says the law is censorship of her First Amendment rights. The case is scheduled to be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2025.
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FILE PHOTO: A protester waves an LGBT rights 'pride flag' as activists gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices heard arguments in a case pitting LGBT rights against a claim that the constitutional right to free speech exempts artists from anti-discrimination laws in a dispute involving an evangelical Christian web designer who refuses to provide her services for same-sex marriages, in Washington, U.S., December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Overview

  • During a 90-minute session, several conservative justices questioned Colorado’s position, with Chief Justice John Roberts noting that counseling words can still receive First Amendment protection.
  • The challenge targets Colorado’s 2019 law barring licensed providers from seeking a predetermined change in a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, with violations punishable by fines up to $5,000 and exemptions for unlicensed religious counselors.
  • Two lower courts upheld the statute as a regulation of professional conduct, but the Supreme Court agreed to review the case after Kaley Chiles, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, argued it censors her speech.
  • Multiple justices probed whether the measure constitutes viewpoint discrimination and discussed the possibility of sending the case back for strict scrutiny, while Colorado defended its authority to police substandard care.
  • Major medical organizations oppose conversion therapy as harmful, similar bans exist in more than 20 states, and researchers Lisa Diamond and Clifford Rosky told the court ADF mischaracterized their study in filings.