California Advances Conversion Therapy Malpractice Bill

In an 8-1 decision last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Colorado's 2019 law banning conversion therapy for minors violates the First Amendment's free speech protections, prompting California lawmakers to advance a new measure aimed at deterring the practice through extended malpractice liability.

The case, Chiles v. Salazar, centered on a statute that prohibited licensed professionals from engaging in treatments intended to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. The justices sided with Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor in Colorado, who argued the law restricted her ability to discuss such changes with clients seeking that guidance, while permitting affirmations of a client's orientation. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch stated that the ban imposed undue restrictions on speech and suggested it would not withstand strict scrutiny, the high legal standard for content-based regulations. The court remanded the case to lower courts without directly overturning the law but effectively casting doubt on its constitutionality.

Conversion therapy, a form of counseling rooted in the long-discredited view that homosexuality and certain gender...