The U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week against Colorado’s ban on licensed mental health providers engaging in gender and sexuality “conversion therapy” could narrow the authority of state medical boards to regulate aspects of health providers’ care that involves speech, according to legal experts. The implications could extend far beyond matters related to LGBTQ+ rights to other forms of talk therapy, telehealth, and physician advice on Covid-19, vaccines, or reproductive care.
Because the therapist who challenged the law, Kaley Chiles, engages in talk therapy — without prescribing medications or having any physical contact with patients — the majority decided that the Colorado law constitutes a restriction on her speech due to her particular viewpoint, or opinion. In an 8-1 decision, the judges sent the case back to a lower court for a higher level of judicial scrutiny, which will likely result in the ban being overturned.
