US EditionSupreme Court Stirs Free Speech Debate with 'Conversion Therapy' Ruling
The 8-1 ruling sends the law back under strict scrutiny after the court said Colorado applied too lenient a test.
- On March 31, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors violates free speech rights of Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, clearing the way for the discredited practice.
- Writing for the majority in Chiles v. Salazar, Justice Neil Gorsuch held that the 10th Circuit "failed to apply sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny" to the state law, which prescribes "what views she may and may not express."
- Dissenting Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argued the majority "failed to appreciate the crucial context" of medical regulation, while every major medical association continues condemning conversion therapy as pseudoscientific and harmful.
- Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, stated the ruling invalidates only this regulatory approach, leaving medical licensing boards able to investigate conversion therapy as "medical malpractice and consumer fraud."
- This decision represents the first of three LGBTQ+ cases before the Court this term, with two others involving transgender athletes heard earlier this year, signaling a broader judicial reckoning with state-level gender regulations.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Chiles v Salazar: How the Supreme Court Made the First Amendment a Tool For Getting the Results the Justices Want
Last week’s ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme Court’s case about “conversion therapy” in Colorado, lays bare the disturbing world that awaits us if we continue to let the First Amendment run amok. Conversion therapy, in which “therapists” attempt to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity into something more “traditionally” cisgender or heterosexual, has long been discredited by mental health professionals as dangerou…
Supreme Court stirs free speech debate with conversion therapy ruling
The Supreme Court’s ruling last week against bans on conversion therapy is stirring debate around free speech, with critics pointing to inconsistencies in the standard applied to bans on abortion and drag shows. In its ruling on Colorado’s 2019 ban on conversion therapy in the case of Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme Court found that [...]
Supreme Court stirs free speech debate with 'conversion therapy' ruling
The Supreme Court’s ruling last week against bans on "conversion therapy" is stirring debate around free speech, with critics pointing to inconsistencies in the standard applied to bans on abortion and drag shows. In its ruling on Colorado’s 2019 ban on conversion therapy in the case of Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme Court found that [...]
Supreme Court Says Colorado Can’t Ban Conversion Therapy for LGBTQ+ Youth | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.
Image credit: Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash This story was originally reported by Kate Sosin of The 19th. Meet Kate and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Tuesday (March 31, 2026) that a Colorado ban on conversion therapy for youth violates the free speech rights of a Christian counselor, clearing the way for a practice that goes against the recommendations of every major medical association in …
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