U.S. Supreme Court Conversion Therapy Showdown

Before the U.S. Supreme Court, a pivotal case pits free speech claims against efforts to protect LGBTQ+ youth from conversion therapy. The decision could reshape professional regulation, parental rights, and the balance between constitutional expression and public health safeguards today.

By Mike Broemmel

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In the case of Chiles v. Salazar before the U.S. Supreme Court, a critical challenge now threatens Colorado’s Colorado Minor’s Conversion Therapy Law (MCTL), enacted in 2019 to prohibit licensed mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy with clients under 18. The law was designed to protect minors from practices that purport to change sexual orientation or gender identity. A decision expected in June 2026 now places that very protection in jeopardy.

Colorado has increasingly become a breeding ground for legal challenges aimed at dismantling LGBTQ+ protections, and the Chiles case marks the third major Supreme Court battle originating in the state. At the center of the case is a self-described “conversion therapist” named Kaley Chiles, who argues that her First Amendment right to free religious expression is violated by the MCTL because it prevents her from engaging in discredited and dangerous practices she claims convert teens from “being gay.”

The litigation is being driven primarily by Alliance Defending Freedom, or ADF—an organization classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a vitriolic anti-LGBTQ+ hate group. ADF has earned this designation through its consistent promotion of falsehoods about LGBTQ+ people and its international advocacy for the criminalization of same-sex relationships.

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Young teen mentally harmed by conversion therapy -Image: Abobe Stock

The renewed attempt to legitimize conversion therapy stands in direct opposition to the overwhelming scientific consensus that condemns the practice. The American Psychological Association maintains that conversion therapy is rooted in the false premise that LGBTQ+ identities are pathological, a position echoed by the American Psychiatric Association. The American Medical Association has further clarified that conversion therapy lacks any scientific basis and is potentially—if not likely—harmful and even deadly. The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law reports that individuals subjected to conversion therapy face an 88 percent greater risk of attempting suicide.

As previously noted, the Chiles case represents the third Supreme Court challenge to substantive LGBTQ+ rights to originate in Colorado, all litigated by ADF. The first was the now-infamous Masterpiece Cakeshop case, in which the nation’s highest court ruled that a Colorado baker had been permitted to discriminate against potential clients based on their sexual orientation.

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Supreme Court Building -image: Adobe Stock

The second was the case commonly known as 303 Creative, in which a website designer similarly refused service to LGBTQ+ clients. Once again, the Supreme Court ruled that the appellant could discriminate under the guise of free expression.

In the final analysis, a majority of the Supreme Court justices now appear poised to hand down yet another ruling that cloaks discrimination in religious justification—this time to permit psychological harm to minors. At stake is whether the law will continue to protect the most vulnerable or whether the Court will once again offer legal cover to those who would do harm in the name of faith.

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About the author

Writing and journalism has been at the heart of Mike’s life after graduating from college with a degree in political science and journalism and beginning his career in the White House Office of Media Relations and Planning (and then in the Office of the First Lady). A primary focus of his work has been in the realm of political analysis and commentary. Mike is also a playwright with several productions addressing issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion that have been produced internationally.

Since 2004, METROMODE has been a beacon for the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies. We’re a publication built on quality, not only in our advertising clients but in the look, feel, and editorial pieces of each magazine. METROMODE speaks to the entire community with thoughtful analysis of local, national, and global events affecting our community; developments in business, finance, the economy, and real estate; interviews with emerging and seasoned artists, musicians, and writers; appealing new opportunities to enjoy Colorado’s rich culture and social atmosphere; quality aesthetic experiences from film, to food, to music, to art, to night life; and challenging social and political thought.

U.S. Supreme Court Conversion Therapy Showdown

Before the U.S. Supreme Court, a pivotal case pits free speech claims against efforts to protect LGBTQ+ youth from conversion therapy. The decision could reshape professional regulation, parental rights, and the balance between constitutional expression and public health safeguards today.

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