The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” for minors violates the First Amendment.
Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor and a Christian, believes in helping children struggling with “gender confusion” rather than affirming the affliction. But Colorado said that this kind of talk therapy is prohibited.
Liberty Counsel (LC) sued the state on Chiles’s behalf to stop enforcement of the ban. The high court heard arguments last October.
Consider this: if some of Chiles’ minor clients wanted to be healed from “gender confusion,” why was it the state’s business to know the content of their confidential communications?
There were indications about which way the court would rule during arguments, especially when Justice Elena Kagan seemed to agree with the majority. She said that the ban looked like viewpoint discrimination when one kind of talk therapy is allowed but not the other.
Justice Samuel Alito said that allowing therapists to affirm “gender identity” but banning therapists from helping clients overcome same-sex attraction? Blatant viewpoint discrimination.
With the exception of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, all the justices ruled on the side of free speech. She argued that counseling only incidentally involves speech, but the others disagreed. Talk therapy is speech.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, said that the “spoken word is perhaps the quintessential form of protected speech. And that is exactly the kind of expression in which Ms. Chiles seeks to engage. As a talk therapist, all Ms. Chiles does is speak with clients; she does not prescribe medication, use medical devices, or employ any physical methods.”
This case sets a precedent for counselors across the country.
Mat Staver, LC founder and chairman, said the decision is a major victory for the counseling profession.
“This ruling ensures the government cannot strip the First Amendment away from licensed counselors and dictate a state-mandated ideology between counselor and client. Talk therapy is speech, and the government has no authority to restrict that speech to just one viewpoint. Counseling bans can now be struck down nationwide so that people can get the counseling they need.”
