WASHINGTON, DC (Mar. 31, 2026) — In response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Chiles v. Salazar, a case brought on behalf of a licensed therapist who argued that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violated her right to free speech, Silver State Equality released the following statement:
“Conversion therapy is a dangerous and discredited practice that has been rejected by every major medical and mental health organization in the country. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has weakened the ability of state licensing boards to regulate healthcare or to intervene if clinicians use unproven, misleading, or coercive techniques by reframing therapy as protected speech. The impact could be far broader than conversion therapy — belief-based therapy could be extended to vaccines, psychiatric medicine, and abortion and contraception. The Supreme Court is moving our country backward and into dangerously unchartered territory. For decades, medical experts have made clear that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity are ineffective and can cause serious psychological harm, including depression, anxiety, and increased risk of suicide. As Justice Jackson stated in her dissent, ‘Not only is conversion therapy ineffective, former participants of conversion therapy report that it causes lasting psychological harm. Gay and transgender children who underwent nonaversive conversion therapy say they were taught to feel shame and self-hatred. And survivors of conversion therapy continue to suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. As one survivor put it, conversion therapy “‘came close to killing me.’ Laws like those in place in Nevada were enacted to protect young people from practices that stigmatize and endanger them. Nevada enacted these protections with SB 201 sponsored by former Nevada State Senator David Parks and signed into law by then Governor Brian Sandoval in 2017. The law prohibits licensed providers from practicing conversion therapy on minors, but this decision threatens those protections. Silver State Equality will continue working with state leaders and partners to ensure Nevada remains a place where LGBTQ+ people are protected from these abusive practices.”
“Conversion therapy is a dangerous and discredited practice that has been rejected by every major medical and mental health organization in the country. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has weakened the ability of state licensing boards to regulate healthcare or to intervene if clinicians use unproven, misleading, or coercive techniques by reframing therapy as protected speech. The impact could be far broader than conversion therapy — belief-based therapy could be extended to vaccines, psychiatric medicine, and abortion and contraception. The Supreme Court is moving our country backward and into dangerously unchartered territory.
For decades, medical experts have made clear that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity are ineffective and can cause serious psychological harm, including depression, anxiety, and increased risk of suicide. As Justice Jackson stated in her dissent, ‘Not only is conversion therapy ineffective, former participants of conversion therapy report that it causes lasting psychological harm. Gay and transgender children who underwent nonaversive conversion therapy say they were taught to feel shame and self-hatred. And survivors of conversion therapy continue to suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. As one survivor put it, conversion therapy “‘came close to killing me.’
Laws like those in place in Nevada were enacted to protect young people from practices that stigmatize and endanger them. Nevada enacted these protections with SB 201 sponsored by former Nevada State Senator David Parks and signed into law by then Governor Brian Sandoval in 2017. The law prohibits licensed providers from practicing conversion therapy on minors, but this decision threatens those protections.
Silver State Equality will continue working with state leaders and partners to ensure Nevada remains a place where LGBTQ+ people are protected from these abusive practices.”
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As Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, Silver State Equality brings the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in Nevada and throughout the U.S. Silver State Equality strives to create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. Silver State Equality is a Nevada-based program affiliated with and supported by Equality California and Equality California Institute, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. More information at SilverStateEquality.org
