WASHINGTON—In a shocking setback for LGBTQ+ rights, on Tuesday, March 31, the Supreme Court overturned Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy, calling it unconstitutional. The state law was aimed at blocking the practice, which seeks to suppress the identity and sexuality of queer youth.
Extensive documented evidence from the American Medical Association has found that conversion therapy carried out on transgender minors is inherently harmful and leads to increased rates of suicide and psychological distress. But the Supreme Court ruled that Colorado’s medical malpractice law violated the freedom of speech of Kaley Chiles, a licensed conversion therapist.
Chiles offers “faith-based treatments” to children who are gay and trans, telling them that their gender and/or sexuality are incompatible with Christianity. The far-right Christian nationalist organization “Alliance Defending Freedom” championed Chiles’ complaint against the law. She was also supported by the Trump administration.
Colorado’s lawyers argued that the state has a responsibility to regulate health care practices, of which the talk therapy practiced by Chiles is a part. The state that makes the case different from other types of speech protected by the First Amendment. Eight Supreme Court justices disagreed, making this the latest case where the court has backed claims of religious discrimination while chipping away at LGBTQ+ rights.
The sole dissenting justice was Ketanji Brown Jackson, who endorsed Colorado’s view, stating that its law did not violate the First Amendment rights of Chiles but banned an alleged medical practice that is now considered by most reputable medical professionals to be a destructive, bigoted, and pseudoscientific form of torture which leads to long term consequences.
“We are on a slippery slope now: For the first time, the Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment to bless a risk of therapeutic harm to children by limiting the State’s ability to regulate medical providers who treat patients with speech,” stated Jackson.
She went on to ponder the negative long-term consequences of the decision.
“What’s next? In the worst-case scenario, our medical system unravels as various licensed healthcare professionals—talk therapists, psychiatrists, and presumably anyone else who claims to utilize speech when administering treatments to patients—start broadly wielding their newfound constitutional right to provide substandard medical care.”
The decision paves the way for conversion therapy bans to be overturned in all states where they exist.
In 2020, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, an independent United Nations expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, urged the UN Human Rights Council to back a global ban on conversion therapy, which he characterized as a form of torture.
“Practices of conversion therapy are not only ineffective, but they can also be extremely harmful. They often lead to pain and suffering that will last far beyond their occurrence, leaving indelible scars on a person’s body and mind,” said Madrigal-Borloz.
“The combined effects of feeling powerless and extreme humiliation generate profound feelings of shame, guilt, self-disgust, and worthlessness, which can result in a damaged self-concept and enduring personality changes.”
Conversion therapy has been condemned by the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, who have each released statements criticizing the decision of the Supreme Court as a dangerous legitimization of torture of youth with diverse sexualities and gender identities.
Conversion therapy continues to pose a significant threat towards LGBTQ+ people. In 2023, in a survey conducted by the Trevor Project, 15% of LGBTQ+ youth reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy.
Nationally, the Project identified more than 1,320 licensed conversion therapy practitioners spread out across 48 states and the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court’s Colorado decision threatens to bring the number of youth affected by this discredited practice much higher, risking a rise in suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth and adults.
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