With conversion therapy now before US Supreme Court, how courts have differed on banning it

The United States Supreme Court this week began hearing arguments in a case that could shape the extent to which states can regulate conversations between licensed therapists and their clients, and determine the future of so-called “conversion therapy”.

The dispute concerns a 2019 law in the state of Colorado , which bans conversion therapy for minors. The term refers to interventions attempted at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Chiles v Salazar , the current case, challenges whether the ban violates the constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Essentially, the court will decide whether the law regulates speech, which receives high constitutional protection, or professional conduct, which states have broader aut