The U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 ruled against a Colorado law that bars licensed counselors from engaging in so-called “conversion therapy” with minors, handing a victory to a Christian counselor who argued the state law violated her First Amendment free speech rights.
In an 8-1 decision in the case Chiles v. Salazar, the justices sided with Kaley Chiles, a licensed mental health professional in Colorado Springs. Chiles had challenged the state’s 2019 law that bans licensed therapists from engaging in any counseling that “attempts or purports to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.” However, the law expressly allows therapy that affirms LGBT identity, permitting “acceptance, support, and understanding” as well as “identity exploration and development.” The law also authorizes disciplinary action against licensed providers, including penalties of up to $5,000 per violation and the possible loss of a therapist’s license.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court, said Colorado’s law “does not just ban physical interventions. In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint.”
“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same,” Gorsuch added. “But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”
The high court’s decision does not immediately strike down Colorado’s law. Instead, it requires the lower courts to apply the most strict level of constitutional scrutiny in further proceedings, setting a “high bar for the state to meet,” CBS News reported. The ruling may also affect similar laws in roughly two dozen other states.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter. Reading parts of her opinion from the bench, Jackson called the ruling “a dangerous can of worms” that undermines states’ authority to regulate medical care and “ultimately risks grave harm to Americans’ health and wellbeing.”
In June 2025, CatholicVote filed an amicus brief arguing that Colorado weaponized its law to silence religious dissent and impose the state’s preferred ideology.
Chiles, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), had argued that the law blocked her from offering voluntary, talk-based counseling sessions with clients, including minors, who want help living in a way consistent with their faith. Chiles, a practicing Christian, has said she “believes that people flourish when they live consistently with God’s design, including their biological sex,” Reuters reported.
In a statement shared by ADF, Chiles celebrated the ruling as a victory for counselors and families everywhere.
“When my young clients come to me for counsel, they often want to discuss issues of gender and sexuality. I look forward to being able to help them when they choose the goal of growing comfortable with their bodies,” Chiles 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. The Supreme Court’s ruling is a victory for counselors and, more importantly, kids and families everywhere."