The United States Supreme Court will take up a challenge to a Colorado law that bans the use of "conversion therapy" on LGBTQ youths.
The case in question is Chiles v. Salazar, which seeks to legalize the discredited method of counseling that was supposedly designed to turn LGBTQ patients cisgender and heterosexual. The Colorado law that bans such therapy disallows licensed therapists from engaging in "any practice or treatment" of such processes.
Challenge to Ban on Conversion Therapy
These include any attempts to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. However, there is an exemption for counselors who are "engaged in the practice of religious ministry."
Following a 2023 dissent by Justice Samuel Alito, 20 states across the country, alongside the District of Columbia, have implemented laws restricting conversion therapy. A federal appeals court also explained that every major medical, psychiatric, psychological, and professional mental health organization opposes the use of such therapy.
Furthermore, the American Psychological Association said that conversion therapy only puts individuals at risk of harm. It added that it was not an effective method of changing a person's gender identity or sexual orientation, according to Vox.
Read more: Trump Administration Resumes Investigation Into Disability-Related Discrimination at Schools
The latest case raises difficult questions about the First Amendment, mainly whether a restriction on what people can discuss with their therapist violates constitutional free speech protections.
Historically, the First Amendment was not taken to protect malpractice or similar misconduct by licensed professionals, even if such things only involved speech. This means that a lawyer cannot simply tell their client that "nothing will happen to you if you go rob a bank" without risking professional sanction.
Argument of First Amendment Rights
The plaintiff in the latest case brought the challenge to Colorado's ban on conversion therapy in September 2022. At the time, a federal district court declined to block the ban after it found that the law did not infringe upon free speech protections, HRC reported.
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said that the Supreme Court's decision to take up the case is not just about conversion therapy. She argued that it is about whether extremists can take advantage of the courts to push their "dangerous agenda."
On top of the dangers of conversion therapy on LGBTQ youths and their mental and physical well-being, it also has a financial burden if it does get legalized. A study in 2022 found that conversion therapy could cost roughly $9 billion per year for patients and their families, as per Forbes.
