SCOTUS strikes down state protections against conversion therapy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2026

CONTACT
Noah Parrish, Communications Director
[email protected]
651.432.0171

In a 8–1 ruling today, the U.S. Supreme Court today struck down Colorado’s law protecting minors from conversion therapy, a dangerous and discredited practice that harms LGBTQ+ youth and increases their risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide. The Court’s decision blocks states from setting and enforcing basic standards for ethical mental health care.

This ruling undermines some protections in Minnesota, where lawmakers banned conversion therapy in 2023 to keep young people safe. Specifically, it will permit conversion talk therapy in Minnesota. It also impacts professional safeguards in North Dakota, where licensed social workers are prohibited from engaging in this harmful practice. By preventing states from enforcing these protections, the Court has opened the door for licensed providers to once again subject young people to practices that major medical and mental health associations agree are harmful and unethical.

Jess Braverman, Legal Director at Gender Justice, issued the following statement:

“Today’s decision puts children back in harm’s way. States like Minnesota and North Dakota banned conversion therapy because we know what it does to kids: it isolates them, teaches them to distrust themselves, and leaves them more vulnerable to depression and suicide. That’s why we drew a clear line and said this has no place in real mental health care. The Court has erased that line. We will keep fighting to restore it and to protect LGBTQ+ youth so kids in our region can grow up safe, affirmed, and supported.”