Conversion Therapy Survivor Network Responds to Supreme Court Decision Striking Down Colorado Conversion Therapy Ban

Survivor-led nonprofit warns ruling weakens protections for LGBTQ youth and is not a free speech issue.

PALM SPRINGS, CA - With the news of the Supreme Court striking down the ban on conversion therapy in Colorado, the Conversion Therapy Survivor Network (CTSN), on behalf of our worldwide community of conversion therapy survivors, strongly and vehemently opposes this striking down of protective measures for youth. 

Conversion therapy has been discredited by every major mental health organization and has long been considered pseudoscience and overall harmful. In addition, those subjected to conversion therapy experience lifelong mental and emotional issues, are far more likely to develop drug dependencies, and are at great risk for suicide. 

Samuel Nieves, board member for CTSN, said, “Even if conversion therapy could work, it’s unethical and life-threatening. That’s the major mistake in this case. As a survivor and trained therapist, it’s shocking to think that conversion therapy could be considered anything other than unethical identity abuse.”

Nieves continued, “Therapists don’t have the right to say anything they want in therapy. We can’t tell clients to change their religion, leave their partners, or change their jobs just because we think we know what’s best for them. The idea that our words are free speech, rather than the tools of our trade, is a gross misunderstanding of how therapy works.”

CTSN wholeheartedly agrees that this is not a free speech issue; it is an ethics issue in a licensed and state-regulated profession. When someone seeks mental health care, they are trusting a professional bound by ethical obligations and standards of practice. Regulations governing licensed professionals exist to ensure that harmful or discredited treatments are not presented as legitimate care, particularly when vulnerable youth are involved.

The Supreme Court’s decision raises significant concerns about the future of laws designed to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy practices. Numerous states and municipalities have enacted restrictions on conversion therapy for minors in response to overwhelming medical consensus that these practices are harmful and ineffective. We fear that this ruling could encourage new legal challenges to those protections and create uncertainty for those seeking safe and ethical mental health care.

For survivors of conversion therapy, the decision represents more than a legal debate. It highlights the ongoing need for survivor voices to be heard in policy discussions and underscores the importance of ensuring that mental health standards remain grounded in evidence-based care and professional ethics.

About the Conversion Therapy Survivor Network

The Conversion Therapy Survivor Network (CTSN) is a survivor-led nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals impacted by conversion therapy and raising awareness about the harms of these practices. Through survivor advocacy, public education, and peer support programs, CTSN works to amplify survivor voices and promote protections for LGBTQ individuals from coercive and harmful practices.