Tue Oct 07 21:13:28 UTC 2025: **Supreme Court Weighs Challenge to Colorado’s Conversion Therapy Ban**
Washington D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court appears inclined to side with a challenge against a Colorado law that prohibits psychotherapists from practicing conversion therapy on minors. During oral arguments Tuesday, the court’s conservative justices raised concerns that the ban might infringe on therapists’ freedom of speech, protected under the First Amendment.
The case was brought by licensed counselor Kaley Chiles, who argues the law violates her free speech rights by preventing her from offering counseling aimed at influencing a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The state of Colorado defends the law, arguing it regulates harmful conduct, not speech.
The 2019 law prohibits licensed mental healthcare providers from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity with a predetermined outcome in mind, a practice widely condemned as pseudoscience and potentially harmful to LGBTQ youth.
Representing Chiles, the Alliance Defending Freedom argues the law could lead professionals to censor themselves for fear of punishment. During the hearing, conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts questioned the law’s potential for viewpoint discrimination, suggesting it might allow therapists to affirm a patient’s gay identity but not help a patient lessen same-sex attraction.
Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson argued the law is a valid exercise of state power to ensure safety in healthcare, citing the lack of efficacy and potential harm associated with conversion therapy, which has been widely discredited by medical organizations like the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Colorado is one of over 20 states to ban conversion therapy. According to a 2019 study by the Williams Institute, nearly 700,000 LGBTQ adults in the U.S. have undergone conversion therapy at some point in their lives, including approximately 350,000 as adolescents.
The Supreme Court’s ruling, expected by the end of June, could have significant implications for laws banning conversion therapy across the country. The court’s conservative majority has recently sided with arguments expanding religious freedom, even in cases involving potential anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
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