Peter, Rhiannon, and Michael from the 5-4 podcast analyze Child v. Salazar, a December 2024 Supreme Court case about Colorado's 2019 conversion therapy ban. The case was brought by therapist Kaylee Child, backed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, challenging restrictions on licensed therapists providing conversion therapy to minors.

The central legal question involved whether states can regulate therapist speech or if such restrictions violate First Amendment protections. In an 8-1 decision, the Court ruled that Colorado's law constitutes viewpoint discrimination requiring strict scrutiny, effectively presuming the law unconstitutional and likely leading to its invalidation.

The hosts examine the broader implications for medical regulation, the role of conservative legal organizations in astroturfing cases, and the tension between state police power to regulate healthcare and expanding First Amendment protections for medical professionals.

Conversion Therapy Science and Colorado's Legal Framework

Conversion therapy attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity through various methods, predominantly targeting children through family intervention.

Colorado's 2019 law prohibits licensed mental health providers from performing conversion therapy on patients under 18, but includes a religious exemption for religious counselors.

Research from the Trevor Project shows 'LGBTQ+ youth who experience conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide' - Peter

Every major medical organization including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association opposes conversion therapy as ineffective and harmful.

Alliance Defending Freedom's Strategic Plaintiff Selection

Kaylee Child filed a pre-enforcement lawsuit backed by Alliance Defending Freedom, the same organization behind 303 Creative and Masterpiece Cakeshop cases.

Child's therapy practice serves patients 16 and older, making her unlikely to encounter the scenarios she claims to need First Amendment protection for.

After winning, Child wrote a Fox News op-ed stating 'this victory calls for further action' and attacking gender-affirming care as harmful to children.

All three ADF-engineered Supreme Court cases challenging LGBTQ+ rights originated from Colorado, suggesting targeted state-level strategy.

Gorsuch's Viewpoint Discrimination Framework

Neil Gorsuch's majority opinion argues Colorado's law constitutes viewpoint discrimination because it forbids therapy aimed at changing sexuality while allowing affirming therapy.

Gorsuch creates inconsistent distinctions, claiming talk therapy is protected speech while physical conversion methods like shock therapy remain regulable as conduct.

The majority dismisses the medical malpractice comparison by arguing it requires proving damages while Colorado's law imposes direct penalties for speech.

Gorsuch fails to address how this framework affects other medical speech regulations, like prohibiting doctors from encouraging suicide or telling anorexic patients to eat less.

Liberal Justices' Divergent Approaches

Kagan and Sotomayor joined the majority while writing a concurrence suggesting viewpoint-neutral laws might survive constitutional challenge.

Kagan's concurrence invokes 'marketplace of ideas' language, treating medical appointments as ideological discourse rather than healthcare delivery.

Justice Jackson's lone dissent distinguishes between speech-as-speech (like clinic waiting room signs) and speech incident to medical care provision.

Jackson emphasizes that state police power to regulate medical care 'predates the American Constitution' and necessarily touches speech when doctors communicate with patients.

Implications for Medical Regulation and Secular Governance

The decision subjects therapeutic treatments to strict scrutiny, making judges rather than medical experts the arbiters of treatment efficacy and standards.

Colorado already provided religious exemptions, meaning Child could practice conversion therapy by labeling it religious counseling.

The ruling represents conservative legal movement's goal to replace rather than simply exempt themselves from secular medical and social standards.

Despite the broad precedential implications, the practical impact may be limited since most conversion therapy occurs in religious rather than licensed therapeutic settings.

Resources Mentioned

Improving Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes for LGBT Youth A Guide for Professionals (SCCMH)

ice Jackson's lone dissent argues medical care regulation has always been within state police power Research shows LGBTQ+ youth experiencing conversion therapy are twice as likely to attempt suicide -

from the Trevor Project shows 'LGBTQ+ youth who experience conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide' - Peter Every major medical organization including the American Psychiatric Association

version therapy on patients under 18, but includes a religious exemption for religious counselors. Research from the Trevor Project shows 'LGBTQ+ youth who experience conversion therapy are more than

Dear God, I'm a faggot. on christianity, conversion therapy, and moving the f*ck on.

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Say Nothing A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

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Tell the Rest A Novel

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