Overview

• During oral arguments, several conservative justices questioned Colorado’s view that licensed counseling can be regulated as conduct, with Chief Justice John Roberts noting that words used by professionals can still be protected speech.
• Multiple justices, including Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson, discussed sending the case back for strict-scrutiny review, a step also urged by the Trump administration in its brief.
• Colorado defended its 2019 law as a patient-safety measure targeting a practice it deems unsafe and ineffective, and the state said no therapist has been disciplined under the statute to date.
• Lower courts upheld the ban as a regulation of professional conduct, while major medical groups told the Court the practice is ineffective and associated with harms such as depression and suicidality.
• Alliance Defending Freedom represents challenger Kaley Chiles, and two researchers whose 2016 study ADF cited filed a brief alleging mischaracterization, as the outcome could affect similar laws in more than 20 states.