Supreme Court

Why SCOTUS Ruled 8–1 Against Colorado's 'Conversion Therapy' Ban

Understanding the Supreme Court’s decision in Chiles v. Salazar.

Damon Root | 4.7.2026 7:00 AM

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Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Colorado law that prohibits mental health professionals from providing "conversion therapy" to minors, which the state defined to include "any practice or treatment…that attempts…to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex." To the surprise of many observers, the decision was 8–1, a strikingly one-sided result in such a politically and socially divisive dispute. What happened?

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Kaley Chiles, a licensed mental health counselor whose practice focuses on "talk therapy," challenged the Colorado law on First Amendment grounds, arguing that the ban, as applied to her,........

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