https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5543054-colorado-conversion-therapy-ban-supreme-court/amp/
The Supreme Court appeared open to a Christian counselor’s free speech challenge to Colorado’s conversion therapy ban for minors during oral arguments Tuesday.

Several members of the court’s conservative majority expressed concern about accepting the blue state’s assertion that it is regulating professional conduct, not speech.

“Just because they’re engaged in conduct doesn’t mean that their words aren’t protected,” Chief Justice John Roberts said.

“It looks like blatant viewpoint discrimination,” Justice Samuel Alito quipped at one point.

Not all the conservative justices were so vocal, including Justice Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s second appointee to the court, who remained quiet Tuesday. The court’s liberal wing, meanwhile, questioned whether the counselor had the right to bring the challenge.

The case is set to have national implications, with more than 20 states having enacted similar bans to the one in Colorado. A decision is expected by next summer.

In 2019, Colorado prohibited licensed mental health counselors from engaging in “any practice or treatment” that “attempts or purports to change” a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Violations can carry $5,000 fines, and counselors can be suspended and stripped of their license.

Colorado contends it is a lawful regulation of health care treatment, pointing to major professional medical associations that suggest conversion therapy is ineffective and can be harmful to minors.

“Every theory that it’s relied on has been debunked and debunked and debunked,” Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson told the justices.

Alito questioned that assertion, pointing to when many medical professionals once believed people with low intelligence shouldn’t be permitted to procreate.