A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sided with a licensed Christian counselor in Colorado has cast the legal landscape for conversion therapy and gender-affirming care into conflict. In an 8-1 decision, the Court sided with Kaley Chiles, who argued that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy violated her right to free speech, ruling that the First Amendment prohibits states from limiting the topics licensed therapists can discuss with clients.
The decision has complicated efforts to protect LGBTQ+ individuals. While advocates say the ruling technically protects gender-affirming therapy as free speech, providers worry the conservative Supreme Court will not apply free speech principles equally. Texas has 104 conversion therapy providers—the second highest number in the country—yet has blocked gender-affirming care despite support from major medical organizations including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. These same groups have universally condemned conversion therapy as harmful.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the sole dissenting voice, warned the decision “opens a dangerous can of worms” by impairing states’ ability to regulate mental health professions. Gender-affirming care providers in Texas note they face potential investigation while conversion therapy proliferates. About 15% of LGBTQ+ youth cite fear of conversion therapy as a reason not to seek mental health support. Guy Felder, a Houston-based licensed professional counselor who survived conversion therapy as a teenager, expressed concern: “As an affirming therapist in this state, I work to undo the harm conversion therapy perpetrates every single day. So with this ruling? I’m worried we’ll see an increase in the availability of conversion therapy, and I’m worried about the precedent it sets going forward.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/lgbtq/2026/04/17/549414/texas-conversion-therapy-lgbtq-chiles-colorado-supreme-court/