Will the Supreme Court Strike Down Colorado’s Ban on ‘Conversion Therapy’?

The U.S. Supreme Court may be ready to rule in favor of a licensed counselor who wants to help children confused about their gender rather than harm them by affirming their confusion.

The high court heard arguments last week in Chiles v. Salazar. The issue is whether Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” violates the First Amendment rights of Kaley Chilies, a Christian and licensed counselor in Colorado, who filed a lawsuit to stop enforcement of the ban.

Liberty Counsel (LC), which filed amicus briefs in the case, linked to the transcript (PDF) of the oral arguments.

As LC noted, Justice Samuel Alito seemed to say that allowing talk therapy that affirms “gender identity” but disallowing therapy for a client who seeks to overcome same-sex attraction would be “blatant viewpoint discrimination.”

Even Justice Elena Kagan, a liberal, said it looks like viewpoint discrimination if one kind of talk therapy is allowed but not the other.

As Chiles’s lawyer argued, she wants to have a full conversation with a client to explore all issues about “gender identity,” including a client changing his or her mind. Why does the state want to interfere with these private and confidential therapy sessions?

Perhaps the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2026 will address this question.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has recommended talk therapy for gender confusion instead of puberty blockers and genital mutilation.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a 409-page report (PDF), Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria. So-called gender care can result in permanent sterilization and disruptive endocrine changes. And what if the “transitioned” child changes his or her mind?

The report contended that “many U.S. medical professionals and associations have fallen short of their duty to prioritize the health interests of young patients.”  Dissenting perspectives “were marginalized, and those who voiced them were disparaged.”

Mat Staver, LC founder and chairman, said that counseling bans must be struck down.

“Laws that restrict counselors and clients to only one viewpoint violate the First Amendment. Talk therapy is speech, and the government has no authority to restrict that speech to just one viewpoint.”

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