Petitioner Kaley Chiles Speaks After Supreme Court Hears Colorado Conversion‑Therapy Challenge
Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian therapist from Colorado Springs who provides faith‑informed counseling and is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom with backing from the U.S. Department of Justice, spoke on camera to CBS News after the Supreme Court heard her challenge to Colorado’s 2019 ban on conversion therapy for minors. Colorado officials and its solicitor general say the law — one of more than 20 state bans that carries fines and potential license suspension — regulates professional conduct to protect children, while oral arguments saw conservative justices express skepticism about the law’s scope and ADF counsel argue it infringes First Amendment rights and that less‑restrictive alternatives were not considered.
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📌 Key Facts
- Petitioner Kaley Chiles is a licensed Christian therapist in Colorado Springs who provides "faith‑informed" counseling and says people "flourish when they live consistently with God’s design, including their biological sex."
- The U.S. Department of Justice is backing Chiles in the litigation, and she is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom.
- CBS News conducted an on‑camera interview (Jan Crawford) with Chiles in which she gave personal testimony about how Colorado's conversion‑therapy ban affected her patients.
- Colorado's law, enacted in 2019, bans licensed counselors from providing conversion therapy to minors; it allows fines up to $5,000 and potential license suspension or revocation, and about two dozen states have similar bans.
- Colorado officials, including Attorney General Phil Weiser, defend the law as protecting children from "inhumane and abusive" conversion therapy and told the Court the state has not disciplined Chiles, arguing the law regulates professional conduct rather than private speech.
- Chiles' counsel, including ADF attorney Jim Campbell, told the Court there is an ongoing "credible threat of enforcement" and argued Colorado failed to consider less‑restrictive alternatives; the state countered that the statute regulates professional conduct.
- Several conservative justices appeared skeptical during oral argument that the law could be applied in a way that infringes licensed counselors' First Amendment speech rights; Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito questioned the state's approach and whether medical consensus can be ideologically influenced.
- Reporters situate the case alongside the Supreme Court's 2023 Lorie Smith decision, highlighting broader First Amendment implications for speech and professional‑conduct regulation.
📰 Sources (5)
Supreme Court seems skeptical of conversion therapy ban
New information:
- Detailed reporting that several conservative justices expressed skepticism during oral argument that Colorado's law could be applied in a way that infringes licensed counselors' First Amendment speech rights
- Direct attribution of arguments: ADF counsel Jim Campbell argued Colorado failed to consider less‑restrictive alternatives and Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson framed the law as regulation of professional conduct rather than pure speech
- Quoted interventions from Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito questioning the state's approach and whether medical consensus can be ideologically influenced
Listen Live: Supreme Court hears arguments on Colorado "conversion therapy" ban
New information:
- Real‑time summary of the oral arguments at the Supreme Court including positions advanced by counsel for both sides.
- State argued it has not disciplined Chiles and that the law regulates professional conduct rather than private speech.
- Chiles' counsel asserted an ongoing 'credible threat of enforcement' and claimed the state was 'actively investigating' her.
- Article reiterates law details: enacted 2019, allows fines up to $5,000 and potential license suspension or revocation, and notes more than 20 states have similar bans.
Counselor at center conversion therapy ban case headed to Supreme Court speaks out
New information:
- CBS News conducted an on‑camera interview with petitioner Kaley Chiles in which she discusses how Colorado's conversion‑therapy ban affected her patients.
- The segment features CBS chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford interviewing Chiles, providing direct quotes and personal testimony from the petitioner.
Supreme Court to decide if faith-based counseling on gender identity is protected speech
New information:
- Identifies Kaley Chiles as a licensed Christian therapist from Colorado Springs who provides 'faith‑informed' counseling and quotes her lawyers describing her belief that people 'flourish when they live consistently with God’s design, including their biological sex.'
- Notes that the U.S. Department of Justice is backing Chiles in the litigation and that Alliance Defending Freedom represents her.
- Includes Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser's quoted defense of the 2019 law as protecting children from 'inhumane and abusive' so‑called conversion therapy.
- Reminds readers that about two dozen states have similar bans and situates the case alongside the 2023 Supreme Court Lorie Smith decision.