Start Here SCOTUS Rules Against Conversion Therapy Ban
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Apr 1, 2026 Britt Klenit, ABC correspondent in Jerusalem covering Israeli operations and regional fallout. Stephen Portnoy, ABC national correspondent tracking legal fights and White House projects. Devin Dwyer, ABC senior Washington reporter on the Supreme Court. They discuss the Court ruling on conversion therapy bans, implications for state laws and dissenting warnings, legal blocks on White House construction, and Israel’s expanding Lebanon actions.
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Liberals Joined Majority To Avoid Reciprocal Speech Limits
- The decision drew unusual bipartisan agreement because liberal justices feared reciprocal limits on affirming gender or orientation.
- Justice Kagan warned a state could otherwise require therapists only to follow an affirming standard, so viewpoint lines are constitutionally risky.
Dissent Argues Conversion Therapy Bans Are Medical Regulation
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the lone dissent from the bench arguing these laws are medical regulation, not pure speech limits.
- Jackson and Colorado contend states routinely regulate medical treatments even when they involve speech by clinicians.
Medical Groups Warn Renewed Therapy Access Will Harm Youth
- Major medical groups say conversion therapy is ineffective and harmful, and advocates warn reopening access will harm confused youth.
- The immediate legal impact is uncertain, but states with similar bans may face rollback efforts and new litigation.