Appeals court upholds Colorado conversion therapy ban

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling leaving Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors intact, ruling that the law does not violate the U.S. Constitution, as one Christian therapist had argued.

Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, challenged the law in 2022, claiming it interfered with her ability to treat individuals with "same-sex attractions or gender identity confusion" who "prioritize their faith above their feelings."

Chiles, who only uses talk therapy in her counseling practice, said she works with "adults who are seeking Christian counseling and minors who are internally motivated to seek counseling." Her intent, she said, is to assist her clients with their "stated desires and objectives," which sometimes include reducing or eliminating "unwanted sexual attractions" or learning to "grow in the experience of harmony with one's physical body."

A trauma specialist, Chiles treated addiction and personality disorders before taking an interest in gender dysphoria and sexuality, according to court documents.

Attorneys for Chiles at the Christian legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) said she "does not try to help minors change their attractions, behavior, or identity, when her minor clients tell her they are not seeking such change."

But Colorado's ban on conversion therapy — a discredited practice that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity — had still backed Chiles into a corner, they said, forcing her to "deny voluntary counseling that fully explores sexuality and gender" to clients in violation of her and her clients' religious beliefs and the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech.

In a 2-1 decision on Thursday, a panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law regulates professional conduct, not speech, upholding a 2022 district court ruling.

The law "does not prohibit a mental health professional from discussing what conversion therapy is, what her views on conversion therapy are, or who can legally provide this treatment to her minor clients," Judge Veronica S. Rossman wrote in the court's opinion. "It only bars a mental health professional from engaging in the practice herself."

In a statement , ADF legal counsel Cody Barnett said the group "will consider all options" in continuing to challenge the law, which Colorado's Democratic Gov. Jared Polis — the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S. — signed in 2019.

"Counseling is speech, not conduct, and it must be treated as such under the First Amendment. The government has no business censoring private conversations between clients and counselors, nor should a counselor be used as a tool to impose the government's biased views on her clients," Barnett said.

The Supreme Court in December declined to review a similar law in Washington state. Three of the court's conservatives — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh — said they would have heard the case.