The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) rejected a Colorado law that banned psychotherapists from using “conversion” talk therapy intended to change a LGBT minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, siding with a Christian licensed counsellor who challenged the law on free speech grounds.
The justices, in a 8-1 ruling, reversed a lower court’s decision that had upheld the law in a case brought by Kaley Chiles, who argued that it violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections against government abridgment of free speech.
The ruling, authored by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, rejected Colorado’s argument that its law regulated professional conduct, not protected speech. The court held open the possibility that the law could apply to certain forms of conversion therapy, including so-called “aversive” physical interventions, but not to Ms. Chiles’ speech at issue here.
“Colorado’s law addressing conversion therapy does not just ban physical interventions. In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint,” Mr. Gorsuch wrote. “Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”
