Press Release  AG Campbell Defends Colorado Law Banning Conversion 'Therapy' For Minors At SCOTUS

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court defending a Colorado law that prohibits licensed health professionals from practicing conversion “therapy”—a harmful and ineffective practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity—on minors. 

Colorado law prohibits licensed health professionals from practicing conversion therapy on children and youth. A licensed counselor challenged that prohibition, arguing that it violated her free-speech rights, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the law, explaining that Colorado is entitled to regulate the professional conduct of mental-health professionals by barring them from engaging in harmful medical practices. The U.S. Supreme Court decided to review the case and will hear oral argument on October 7, 2025. 

The amicus brief, filed by 20 states and the District of Columbia, supports Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy—a practice that is not a safe or effective treatment for any condition; puts youth at risk of serious harms, including increased risks of suicide and depression; and falls below the standard of care for mental health practitioners.

The brief argues that the First Amendment does not shield dangerous and ineffective mental health practices from regulation, nor does it allow licensed providers to operate below a certain standard of care. Additionally, such bans are consistent with states’ long history of establishing and regulating professional standards of care. 

The brief also warns that striking down such a ban would likely create profound unintended consequences for states’ authority to regulate professional practices within their borders as they have throughout most of the nation’s history. 

Massachusetts is one of over 25 states that bans or restricts conversion therapy. The practice is repudiated by all leading medical and mental professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychiatric Association. 

Joining AG Campbell in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. 

A copy of the amicus brief can be found here. 

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