Supreme Court to hear case on conversion therapy ban in Colorado

The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments this week into a case challenging the legality of Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy impacting lesbians, gays and trans people, reports Newsweek.

Nearly two dozen states have banned conversion therapy for minors. Opponents of the therapy, which includes many medical professionals, say the practice of trying to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling won’t work, isn’t backed by science and can harm minors.

Others argue that the law violates the First Amendment rights of counselors practicing conversion therapy. This could have implications for states that have sought to prohibit the practice. The Chiles v. Salazar case centers around Colorado counselor Kaley Chiles who challenged a Colorado law barring conversion therapy for minors. 

Newsweek spoke with Ryan Thoreson, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, about the case. Some legal experts think the Supreme Court could end up overturning Colorado’s ban.

At UC Law, Thoreson’s scholarship examines the legal and social regulation of gender and sexuality and spans constitutional law, comparative and international law, and human rights law.

Read the Newsweek article online.

Learn more about UC’s Ryan Thoreson online.