Overview
- The Court, in an 8–1 ruling Tuesday, said Colorado’s ban censors a counselor’s talk therapy based on viewpoint and sent the case back for stricter review.
- Colorado’s 2019 law forbids licensed providers from trying to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, with fines up to $5,000 and possible license action, though the state had not enforced it.
- Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that conversational counseling is protected speech, rejecting Colorado’s argument that the law regulates medical conduct rather than expression.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning the decision could weaken states’ power to police harmful care, even as major medical groups say conversion therapy is ineffective and linked to increased distress and suicide risk.
- The outcome is expected to complicate similar bans in more than 20 states, and therapists offering talk-only sessions may face fewer restrictions as the case proceeds in lower courts.