A Supreme Court decision from last week, in which justices ruled that a law banning conversion therapy for minors violated the free speech rights of a conservative therapist, is raising alarm with First Amendment scholars who say there could be sweeping implications in a variety of health care settings.
Beyond putting LGBTQ+ protective laws at risk of being overturned, the court’s decision could upend the authority of state medical boards to regulate forms of health care where speech is involved — such as talk therapy, telehealth and physician advice on a variety of topics, including vaccines.
“What could happen is now a bunch of laws are subject to First Amendment attack that weren’t subject to First Amendment attack on Tuesday,” Luke Smith Morgan, an assistant professor of law at Campbell Law School in North Carolina, told HuffPost.
Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law, which was enacted in 2019, blocks licensed mental health providers from any therapy that attempts to change a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Plaintiff Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian therapist, challenged the law, arguing that the state barred her from counseling minors who voiced a desire to “resist same-sex relationships” or who did not want to be trans. Unlicensed religious counselors are exempt from regulation.
