Supreme Court Overturns Colorado Law Restricting LGBT Conversion Talk Therapy

In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down Colorado's ban on conversion talk therapy for minors, citing First Amendment free speech protections for counselors.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 1, 2026, 5:49 AM EDT

Source: Reuters

The First Amendment as a Shield for Professional Speech

Writing for the majority, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch argued that Colorado’s 2019 law did not merely regulate professional medical conduct but specifically censored speech based on the viewpoint of the speaker. The court rejected the state’s defense that the law was a standard public health measure, with Gorsuch noting that the First Amendment serves as a critical barrier against government efforts to enforce "orthodoxy in thought." This decision reverses a lower court’s ruling that had previously upheld the ban, marking a major victory for Kaley Chiles, the Christian licensed counselor who initiated the legal challenge. The case now returns to lower courts, which must apply a much more rigorous legal standard to any remaining aspects of the law.

Dissenting Opinion and the Scope of Medical Regulation

Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson provided the lone dissenting vote, characterizing the majority’s stance as "unprincipled and unworkable." In her dissent, Jackson emphasized that states have a long-recognized responsibility to regulate the medical profession to ensure public health and safety. She argued that the state should have the authority to restrict therapies deemed "dangerous" or "ineffective" by the broader medical community, even if those treatments primarily involve speech. Jackson warned that the ruling could undermine the ability of states to protect patients from a variety of unlicensed or scientifically unsupported medical practices that occur under the guise of professional consultation.

Broad Implications for State Laws and LGBTQ+ Youth

Colorado is one of more than two dozen states, along with the District of Columbia, that currently have similar bans or restrictions on conversion therapy for individuals under the age of 18. This ruling casts immediate legal doubt on those existing statutes. Following the decision, Colorado Governor Jared Polis—the nation's first openly gay man elected as a state governor—reiterated his stance that conversion therapy is a "scam" that causes genuine harm to youth. He indicated that the state is currently evaluating how to pivot its legal strategy to maintain protections for LGBTQ+ minors while complying with the Supreme Court's new First Amendment requirements.