On March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors. In Chiles v. Salazar, the Court paved the way for challenges to similar state laws across the country and set a particularly high burden for state regulators who hope to restrict access to talk therapies that deviate from medical consensus.
The decision is a stark juxtaposition against the outcome last summer in United States v. Skrmetti, where the Court upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors and strengthened the ability of states to regulate certain medical interventions. To distinguish Skrmetti, the majority opinion in Chiles took careful steps to outline where and when it is appropriate for states to intervene in medical practices, making one thing clear: the First Amendment protects speech, and talk therapy is just that. Read on for more about the case, its possible implications, and how undermining conversion therapy bans aligns with other policy priorities of the Trump Administration.
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Health Care in Motion, Health Law & Policy, Commentary
This is Not Medical Advice: The Supreme Court and Conversion Therapy
April 8, 2026