The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a legal challenge to a law in Colorado that bans “conversion therapy” aimed at LGBTQ+ minors. At least 23 states and the District of Columbia ban conversation therapy for minors.
Conversion therapy, as defined by the state, is an attempt to “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”
Colorado enacted the Minor Conversion Therapy Law in 2019 following what the state said was a growing mental health crisis among young people in the state and “mounting evidence” that conversion therapy is tied to increased depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. The law prohibits “any practice or treatment [upon minors] … that attempts or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”
The high court agreed to hear the legal challenge brought by the conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom in opposition to the state law. The Alliance Defending Freedom group is representing Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, who has argued that Colorado’s law violates First Amendment rights by “censoring” client conversions.
Kristen Waggoner, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement: “The government has no business censoring private conversations between clients and counselors, nor should a counselor be used as a tool to impose the government’s biased views on her clients.”
A federal judge and the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled in favor of the state. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, wrote in a statement: “In Colorado, we are committed to protecting professional standards of care so that no one suffers unscientific and harmful so-called gay conversion therapy. States have long regulated medical practices to protect patients from harmful professional conduct. Colorado’s law protecting young people from unscientific and cruel gay conversion therapy practices is human, smart, and appropriate.”
The case will be heard in the Supreme Court’s next term, which begins in October, with a decision expected by the end of June 2026.
Editorial credit: Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com
