SCOTUS Overturns Colorado Conversion Therapy Ban for Minors

The Supreme Court overturned Colorado's conversion therapy ban for minors in an 8-1 ruling on Tuesday. 

Ruling Support: Counselor Kaley Chiles, represented by conservative law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), argued in Chiles v. Salazar that state governments cannot limit therapists' discussion topics with clients. She furthered that the law infringes on First Amendment protections for voluntary faith-based therapy and asserted that modern conversion therapy does not align with more hostile historical approaches. Justice Neil Gorsuch stated in the Court's opinion that the law "censors speech based on viewpoint." Two of the Court's three liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, agreed that the law's language was biased by allowing gender affirmation but not conversion. Kagan stated, "Once again, because the state has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward."

Ruling Opposition: Colorado state officials argued that its law did not explicitly restrict any discussion topics but disallows the use of conversion tactics that promote heterosexuality. It also highlighted an exception from religious ministries. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the ruling, concluding, "the Court's opinion misreads our precedents, is unprincipled and unworkable, and will eventually prove untenable for those who rely upon the long-recognized responsibility of States to regulate the medical profession for the protection of public health." 

Key Quotes: Jackson said the ruling "threatens to impair states' ability to regulate the provision of medical care in any respect." Chiles contrastingly said, "Counselors walking alongside these young people shouldn't be limited to promoting state-approved goals like gender transition, which often leads to harmful drugs and surgeries." 

How The Media Covered It: News media across the political spectrum highlighted Chiles' Christianity. They also gave voice to both supporting and dissenting opinions. However, Associated Press (Left bias) framed the ruling as "the latest in a line of recent cases in which the justices have backed claims of religious discrimination while taking a skeptical view of LGBTQ+ rights." Meanwhile, Fox News (Right) emphasized the court's reasoning behind its decision. AP referred to conversion therapy as "a practice that has been scientifically discredited and linked to serious harm." Fox News Opinion (Right) published an additional piece by Chiles in which she argued in support of her case.

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