Supreme Court strikes Colorado ban on conversion therapy

Law

Nina Totenberg

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on March 4 in Washington, D.C. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

The Supreme Court has ruled that Colorado's law banning conversion therapy "regulates speech based on viewpoint."

At issue was the practice of an evangelical Christian, Kaley Chiles, a counselor who wants to provide talk therapy to teenagers seeking to discuss their sexual orientation or gender identity, including those hoping to "reduce or eliminate unwanted sexual attractions, change sexual behaviors, or grow in the experience of harmony with one's physical body," according to her complaint.

Her lawyer argued that Colorado's law prevents voluntary conversations with minors seeking her help.

The majority opinion states, "the lower courts erred by failing to apply sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny."

"As applied to Ms. Chiles, Colorado's law regulates the content of her speech and goes further to prescribe what views she may and may not express, discriminating on the basis of viewpoint," the opinion says.

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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, pointing to precedent on states regulating health care professionals. "Stated simply, the majority has failed to appreciate the crucial context in which Chiles's constitutional claims have arisen," she wrote. "Chiles is not speaking in the ether; she is providing therapy to minors as a licensed healthcare professional."

The court heard arguments on the case in October and appeared to lean toward the therapist at the time.

The case involved a new wrinkle on "conversion therapy." It's generally defined as a treatment used to change a person's attraction to same-sex individuals and to similarly cure gender dysphoria. In whatever form, the therapy has been forcefully repudiated by every major medical organization in the country on the grounds that it doesn't work and often leads to depression and suicidal thoughts in minors.

But during arguments in the fall, Chiles' lawyer, James Campbell, told the justices that the way his client wishes to practice conversion therapy involves no physical restraints or coercion of any kind. Rather, he said her practice involves only talk therapy.

"Ms. Chiles is being silenced. The kids and families who want help — this kind of help that she offers — are being left without any support," he asserted.

The outcome of the case could mean a rollback on conversion therapy bans across the country.

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