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Supreme Court Says Colorado Conversion-Therapy Ban Violates Counselor’s Free Speech

The 8–1 free-speech ruling could spur challenges to similar laws in more than 20 states.

Overview

  • The Supreme Court’s 8–1 decision, issued Tuesday, sided with counselor Kaley Chiles and found Colorado’s ban unconstitutional as applied to her.
  • The majority said the 2019 law discriminated by dictating which views she could express during talk therapy with minors.
  • The justices sent the case back to lower courts to revisit their rulings under the First Amendment guidance.
  • News outlets described the outcome as a setback for protections for LGBTQ minors, and the reasoning could invite new lawsuits over comparable state bans.
  • Conversion therapy seeks to change orientation or gender identity, and reports have cited harmful methods such as electroshocks, hormone regimens, and exorcisms, prompting a U.N. call for a global ban and a German ban since 2020.