Supreme Court Backs Conversion Therapy

0:00It's March 31st. You're listening to Sydney News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Corey with the story. The Supreme Court has dropped an 8-1 ruling striking down Colorado's ban on so-called conversion therapy. They sided with the Christian counselor named Kaley Childs, saying the law violates the first amendment by targeting speech based on viewpoint. Just as Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion, calling it a shield against enforcing thought orthodoxy. The case got sent back to a lower court to check if the ban passes strict scrutiny, a tough standard few laws being. Liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor joined the majority, noting states can't suppress one side of the gender identity debate while boosting the other. Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson dissented a loan, arguing states need freedom to regulate health care, even if it touches speech. LGBTQ advocates slammed the decision, stressing conversion therapy harms kids and major medical groups opposed it. Chi-Ile says her voluntary faith-based counseling helps youth feel comfortable in their bodies

1:04without pushing transitions. No one's been fined under the 2019 law yet, but this could kneecaps similar bans in other states. Childs, backed by the conservative alliance defending freedom, fought it with help from the Trump-era Justice Department. This fits a pattern where the court backs religious freedom claims over LGBTQ protections, like the web designer who won against Colorado's. Anti-discrimination rules. Eyes now on how lower courts handle the remand, and what ripples hit nationwide therapy