The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this morning about whether a Colorado therapist should be allowed to practice conversion therapy on minors – packaged like it’s some high-minded free speech debate instead of what it really is: state-sanctioned psychological abuse.
Here’s the deal – Kaley Chiles is a Christian therapist from Colorado Springs who wants to “counsel” kids into rejecting their sexual orientation or gender identity. The state told her no – because it’s harmful junk science. Chiles says that violates her right to free speech. The case, Chiles v. Salazar, hit the Supreme Court today.
Colorado banned conversion therapy for minors in 2019. Break the rule, and you risk a $5,000 fine and your professional license. Two dozen states have similar laws. The reason is simple: it doesn’t work, and it causes real harm. The American Psychological Association reviewed the research years ago and found zero proof that sexual orientation can be changed. The AMA calls it unscientific. The American Psychiatric Association says it’s dangerous. Every credible medical group agrees – it’s professional malpractice dressed up as morality.
The Williams Institute found that survivors of conversion therapy are nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide. A 2022 JAMA Pediatrics study estimated the resulting national cost at $9.23 billion a year – mostly from depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts. Over half a million LGBTQ youth were at risk of this nonsense in 2021 alone.
Chiles insists her clients “choose” to attend. But minors can’t consent to therapy their parents drag them into – especially when those parents believe their kid’s identity is a sin. That’s not free choice. That’s coercion.
She’s backed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, the same group that keeps trying to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people under the banner of “religious liberty.” The Southern Poverty Law Center calls them a hate group, which is being polite.
Colorado’s argument is straightforward: this is medical regulation, not censorship. States regulate health care to protect patients from quackery. You can’t claim free speech if your “speech” is malpractice. If the Court buys Chiles’ argument, it’ll blow a hole in every professional standard that keeps patients safe. Bad medical advice? Free speech. Shady legal counsel? Also free speech. Every licensed profession could hide behind the First Amendment while harming people.
The Trump administration is backing Chiles, claiming Colorado is “muzzling one side of a debate” about gender and sexuality. But there is no debate. The scientific consensus was settled half a century ago. This isn’t medicine – it’s ideology with a counseling license.
If SCOTUS sides with Chiles, half the states could see their conversion therapy bans overturned. That means more kids suffering, more suicides, and a massive step backward for healthcare regulation. The worst part? Justices Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh have already signaled they’re ready to hear exactly this kind of case.
Here’s the bottom line: you can’t call something “therapy” when its only measurable outcome is trauma. Faith isn’t a defense for harm – and the First Amendment shouldn’t be a weapon to make cruelty legal.