U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Colorado Ban on Conversion Therapy Practices

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled a Colorado law prohibiting conversion therapy as unconstitutional, citing free speech concerns. In the case Chiles v. Salazar, decided by an 8-1 majority, the court sided with a Christian counselor who argued the state's ban violated her First Amendment rights by restricting therapeutic conversations. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, stated the law engaged in viewpoint discrimination by allowing therapists to affirm a patient's gender identity but not question it. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined the majority, with Kagan agreeing in a concurrence that Colorado improperly favored certain viewpoints. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning the decision opens a dangerous precedent and undermines states' ability to regulate healthcare. The case has been remanded to a lower court for further review. The plaintiff, Kaley Chiles, filed the lawsuit with support from the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization known for funding cases to advance political changes nationwide. Critics, including the Human Rights Campaign and the American Psychological Association, argue conversion therapies pose substantial harm and are discredited by major medical groups. The ruling could affect similar bans in about two dozen other states. Republican politicians like Senator Tom Cotton praised the decision, while some legal scholars, such as Stephanie Barclay of Georgetown University, viewed Colorado's regulation as a clear First Amendment violation. The outcome follows a strategy previously used in cases like the overturning of Roe v. Wade.