Strict Scrutiny SCOTUS Not Cool With Colorado Ban on Conversion Therapy
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Mar 31, 2026 Shannon Minter, Legal Director at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, explains the Supreme Court ruling on Colorado's ban on conversion therapy. They discuss why the Court treated therapeutic talk as protected speech. They analyze the ruling's reasoning, risks to other state bans, and what legal paths states might use going forward.
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Court Treats Conversion Therapy Ban As Speech
- The Supreme Court ruled Colorado's ban on conversion therapy triggers strict scrutiny because it treats certain therapist speech as viewpoint discrimination.
- The decision applied First Amendment doctrine to talk therapy, framing spoken therapeutic interventions as protected speech subject to the highest review.
Statute Misread As Favoring Affirmation
- Shannon Minter argues the Court misread the statute by imputing an 'affirming' vs 'disaffirming' distinction that the text does not contain.
- She stresses the law prohibits efforts to impose predetermined outcomes, not neutral supportive care.
Therapeutic Talk Is Treatment Not Pure Speech
- Leah Litman and Shannon Minter emphasize context: regulation occurs within a medical licensing regime, so it's regulation of treatment not pure expression.
- They argue talk in therapy is treatment, not merely expressive speech like political advocacy.
