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• Posted April 1, 2026

Supreme Court Blocks Colorado Limits on Therapy for LGBTQ Minors

The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked a Colorado law that forbid mental health professionals from trying to change LGBTQ minors’ sexual orientation.

In an 8-1 ruling, the court said the law violated free speech protections by limiting what therapists can say during sessions.

The case was brought by a Christian therapist who argued the law prevented her from helping clients explore personal goals tied to their faith.

Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the law put limits on speech based on point of view.

“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety,” he wrote. “But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”

Colorado’s law, passed in 2019, banned licensed professionals from using therapy to try to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. 

While they can be fined up to $5,000 for each violation and their license can be suspended or revoked, state officials have never enforced the measure. Religious entities are exempt.

In his ruling, Gorsuch said the law not only bans physical interventions, but also "censors speech based on viewpoint."

Supporters said the law was meant to protect young people from practices known as "conversion therapy," which critics say can be harmful and ineffective.

Conversion therapy encourages gay or lesbian youth to identify as heterosexual and for transgender children to identify as the gender they were assigned at birth.

More than 20 states have similar laws, The New York Times reported.

The ruling raises new questions about how states can regulate mental health care for young people.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the only member of the court who dissented, warned that the decision could have serious consequences.

“This decision might make speech-only therapies and other medical treatments involving practitioner speech effectively unregulatable,” she wrote.

She added that the long-term effects could be "catastrophic" if states cannot step in to protect patients from certain language from therapists.

Experts say the ruling may affect laws in other states that restrict similar practices.

It also adds to fire to more recent rulings in which the court has sided with arguments based on free speech and religious rights.

At the same time, officials argued that these types of laws are part of their role in regulating medical care.

More information

The Legislative Research Commission has more on conversion therapy.

SOURCE: The New York Times, March 31, 2026