Conversion Therapy in Colorado

April 2, 2025

Colorado law presently prohibits licensed physicians who specialize in psychiatry and mental health care providers from engaging in conversion therapy with anyone under 18 years old. As explained by the Human Rights Campaign, conversion therapy involves a “range of dangerous and discredited practices that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.” In light of a recent challenge to the law in Chiles v. Salazar, the future of conversion therapy in Colorado is shaky.

In Chiles v. Salazar, Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, contends that the conversion therapy ban violates the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses of the 1st Amendment. In essence, Chiles claims that the law forces her to deny “voluntary counseling that fully explores sexuality and gender to her clients and potential clients in violation of her and her clients’ sincerely held religious beliefs.”

In 2022, Chiles’ request to block enforcement of Colorado’s law was denied, as the federal court determined the law regulates professional conduct, not speech. The court further recognized that conversion therapy is both “ineffective” and harmful. Indeed, the National Alliance on Mental Illness is unequivocal, noting that “no one should be subject to practices that can cause or worsen mental health symptoms,” which includes the “discredited, discriminatory, and harmful practice of conversion therapy.”

Fast forward to 2025, and Chiles v. Salazar is now set to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this year. Given the Court’s profoundly anti-LGBTQ+ ideological makeup, supporters of human rights aren’t confident that it will arrive at the correct decision.

We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation staunchly oppose this draconian effort to roll back human rights in Colorado.