The skepticism of the Supreme Court surrounds “conversion therapy” the law to treat minors

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court seemed ready to eliminate the prohibition of colorado on mental health professionals, providing a so-called “conversion therapy” to minors with problems of gender identity or sexual orientation, an important affair of the first amendment with strong political and social nuances.

The authorized advisor, Kaley Chiles, said that legislation violates her rights to freedom of expression and breaks her free exercise of religion and that of her clients by censoring and prohibiting certain private conversations of the Counselor client.

About two dozen states and Washington, DC has laws similar to those of Colorado.

The state says that it acted to regulate professional conduct, “based on overwhelming evidence that efforts to modify the sexual orientation or sexual identity of a child are dangerous and ineffective”.

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A general vision of the Supreme Court building on Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP photo / J. Scott Applewhite, file)

During an increase of 90 minutes of oral arguments, the conservative majority of the court appeared in support of chile complaints.

Several conservative members of the bench suggested that the law of Colorado has created a double standard which, according to judge Samuel Alito, could constitute “discrimination from the point of view”.

“Let’s say that you have medical experts who think that the care affirmed by the sexes should be – is dangerous for children and some who say that this type of conversion therapy is dangerous,” said Judge Amy CONEY BARRETT. “Can a state choose one side?”

But other judges seemed to agree with the State, which quoted what it claims to be the consensus of mental health professionals that verbal conversion therapy has proven to be ineffective.

“There are studies that say that this advice harms people emotionally and physically,” said judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Judge Samuel Alito (left) suggested that the Colorado law could constitute “discrimination from point of view. Judge Sonia Sotomayor (right) noted that certain studies have shown that the so-called” conversion therapy “for LGBTQ + individuals can have harmful effects on people. (Getty Images)

Brett judge Kavanaugh and chief judge John Roberts could be the key to deciding on the case, as to whether the regulation of “Talk Therapy” can be treated in the same way as medical practices.

Roberts cited the previous preceding of the High Court which did not distinguish professional discourse.

“It is not because they are engaged in the conduct that their words are not protected,” said Roberts.

Among the questions that the nine judges confronted were whether the law of the State correctly distinguishes speech and conduct, and the limits of professional discourse of approved mental health therapists.

Chile lawyers describe it as “a Christian in practice (who) believes that people flourish when they live regularly with the conception of God, including their biological sex”.

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She said that she uses “informed” advice to engage in speech therapy with young people who “seek to reduce or eliminate unwanted sexual attractions, change sexual behavior or grow in the experience of harmony with the physical body”.

But Chiles’ lawyers say that she does not “seek to” heal “customers of same -sex attractions or to” change “the sexual orientation of customers”.

A small group of demonstrators gathered outside the court to support the law of Colorado. The Chiles representing group has canceled its rally on security problems.

The Chiles’ lawyer and the Colorado general solicitor offered strongly different views in the courtroom on the question of whether previous studies on conversion therapy showed his ineffectiveness.

Colorado says there is a “mountain of evidence” that this is the case, and that the main medical associations have found that this leads to depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

But Chiles argues that there are no studies indicating that conversion therapy is harmful and that other studies are fundamentally wrong.

“States should not handle private conversations between approved professionals and customers,” said James Campbell, lawyer for Chiles, on the bench.

Kaley Chiles, plaintiff in Chiles c. Salazar (Alliance Defending Freedom Press Communiqué) (Alliance defending freedom, press release)

A majority in court seemed to agree.

Judge Elena Kagan posed a hypothetical where two different doctors treat someone who believes that he is gay – one who tells the patient to change, the other to accept it.

“And one of them is authorized, and the other is not?” Asked Kagan. “It seems to be discrimination from a point of view in the way we normally understand discrimination from a point of view.”

When Colorado’s solicitor Shannon Stevenson said that the basic question was to preserve the best medical practice on what therapists can say to patients, rather than freedom of expression, Alito intervened.

“There were times when the medical consensus was politicized, was taken up by the ideology,” said Alito. “Once, was there a time when many health professionals thought that some people should not be allowed to procreate because they had a weak IQ?” He asked.

The Ministry of Justice of the Trump Administration declared in court that the law creates a “muzzled” standard – prohibiting it from helping people to accept their assigned sex at birth, while allowing other therapists to support young people who wish to accept their homosexuality or go to another sex.

Some on the bench wondered if speech therapy was – or should be treated differently from medical care.

“I was still struggling to find out if a therapist who acts in his professional capacity to help someone achieve his goals is really to express the type of message or express a message for the purposes of first amendment,” said judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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“It is just a little confusing for me that it would be in a position different from that of a health professional who has exactly the same objectives, exactly the same interests, and who would simply prescribe drugs for that rather than speak with the customer.”

Stevenson argued that there was a long history of states regulating therapists.

“Damage to conversion therapy comes from the moment you tell a young person that you can change this innate thing about you,” said Stevenson. “And they try, and they try, and they fail, then they are ashamed, and they are miserable. And then it ruins their relationships with their family.”

The American Psychiatric Association 55 years ago ceased to classify homosexuality as a mental illness.

Chiles attended the oral arguments and then said to Fox News: “I consider my work as an effusion of my faith. I want what is best for my customers, and often they are looking for me because we have a shared faith.”

“Children in difficulty benefit from access to voluntary advice, conversations that help them when they seek all of all and peace with their bodies,” added Chiles. “They deserve better than the unique approach to Colorado.”

In recent years, the court has faced a range of calls related to LGBTQ +.

In June, the conservative majority confirmed a Tennessee law which prohibits certain medical treatments for transgender adolescents.

A separate decision allowed parents to exempt their children from the school time with books on the theme of the LGBTQ who were in contradiction with their religious convictions.

The court later this term will examine the laws of states which prohibit transgender athletes to participate in the sports teams of girls and women.

The demonstrators for and against the care asserted by the sexes for transgender minors demonstrated outside the Supreme Court on December 4, 2024, in Washington. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) file

The Colorado affair has become a political and social touchstone. 187 The Democrats of the Chamber and the Senate, as well as the main leaders of medical and mental health support the disputed law.

The groups supporting the Chiles include the Department of Justice Trump, the association of certified biblical advisers and the Family Research Council.

The debate sparked political divisions at the national level.

A 2015 report in the department of Obama Health and Human Services concluded that the conversion therapy for young people should be stopped.

“There is limited research on conversion therapy efforts between children and adolescents,” said Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa) in its report. “However, none of the existing research supports the premise that mental or behavioral health interventions can change gender identity or sexual orientation.”

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The DHS website now has a non-liability clause saying that the ten-year report is accessible to the public by prescription of the court, but adds: “All information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the truth … This page does not reflect reality and, therefore, the administration and this department reject it.”

The current judicial case is chiles c. Salazar (24-539). A decision is expected at the beginning of the summer of 2026.