Demonstrators protest against conversion therapy outside the US supreme court on 7 October 2025 in Washington DC. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenDemonstrators protest against conversion therapy outside the US supreme court on 7 October 2025 in Washington DC. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesUS supreme court rules against Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’Court in 8-1 decision sides with Christian counselor who argues law banning the practice violates first amendment
The US supreme court on Tuesday ruled against a law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ kids in Colorado, one of about two dozen states that ban the discredited practice.
An 8-1 high court majority sided with a Christian counselor who argued the law banning “conversion therapy” violates the first amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide if it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.
It’s 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.
Counselor Kaley Chiles, with support from Donald Trump’s Republican administration, said the law wrongly barred her from offering voluntary, faith-based therapy for kids.
Chiles contends her approach is different from conversion practices from decades ago, like shock therapy. Her attorneys argued that the ban makes it hard for parents to find therapists willing to discuss gender identity with kids unless the counseling affirms transition.
Colorado disagreed, saying its law does allow wide-ranging conversations about gender identity and sexual orientation and exempts religious ministries. The state says the measure simply bars using therapy to try to “convert” LGBTQ+ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations, a practice that has been scientifically discredited and linked to serious harm.
The law doesn’t violate the first amendment, Colorado argued, because therapy is different from other types of speech since it’s a form of healthcare that the state has a responsibility to regulate.
The 2019 law carries the possibility of fines and license suspension, but no one has been sanctioned under it. The ruling is expected to eventually make similar laws in other states unenforceable.
Chiles was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organization that has appeared frequently at the court in recent years. The group also represented a Christian website designer who successfully challenged Colorado anti-discrimination law because she didn’t want to work with same-sex couples.
