Supreme Court blasted for ‘reckless’ conversion-therapy ruling that will have a ‘catastrophic fallout’ for LGBT+ youth

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Colorado therapist who challenged state law preventing mental health providers from using “conversion therapy” against LGBT+ young people, what advocates called a “painful” and “reckless” decision that will reverberate across the country.

The high court’s nearly unanimous decision, with only liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, is likely to impact more than 20 states with similar laws against trying to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

“Ultimately, because the majority plays with fire in this case, I fear that the people of this country will get burned,” Jackson wrote in her dissent.

“Before now, licensed medical professionals had to adhere to standards when treating patients: They could neither do nor say whatever they want,” she wrote.

“And, to be completely frank, no one knows what will happen now,” she added. “Who knows? Certainly not the majority. It appears to have made this momentous decision without adequately grappling with the potential long-term and disastrous implications of this ruling. The fallout could be catastrophic.”

Tuesday’s decision marks a “tragic step backward” that imperils thousands of lives, according to Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, the nation’s leading crisis intervention and suicide prevention group for for LGBT+ young people.

LGBT+ youth subjected to conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to their peers, according to the group. Major medical and mental health organizations have condemned the practice.

The Supreme Court’s 8-1 ruling, written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch and published on Transgender Day of Visibility, is a “reckless decision” that “means more American kids will suffer,” according to Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

The court has “weaponized free-speech in order to prioritize anti-LGBTQ+ bias over the safety, health and wellbeing of children,” she wrote. “So-called ‘conversion therapy’ is pseudoscience, not real therapy.”

In their decision, the justices argued that Colorado law trampled on the First Amendment rights of conservative Christian therapist Kaley Chiles, who claimed state law regulates speech, not conduct.

“The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” Gorsuch wrote for the majority.

Lamda Legal counsel Carl Charles, who was subjected to conversion therapy at 15 years old, said the practice “destroyed important relationships and created shame and fear that took time and effort to undo.”

“For many survivors, it is a reverberating life-long harm,” Charles said. “I am fortunate to have been able to transcend the trauma of that experience, to celebrate my identity as a transgender man, and to nurture a loving relationship with my husband. But so many young people do not have the familial or community support to withstand the impact of this unethical practice.”

This is a developing story