SCOTUS Rules on Conversion Therapy

OUR STATEMENT

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued their decision in Chiles v. Salazar with an 8-1 ruling with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the sole dissenter. Their decision determined that conversion talk therapy is protected by the first amendment.

Dr. Aisha Mays, adolescent medicine physician in California and Board Member with Physicians for Reproductive Health responded when the case was first heard:

“As a physician who cares for young people every day, I know how critical it is for their health and wellbeing to have access to health care that affirms who they are. I am a researcher, a scientist, and an adolescent health care provider who has cared for LGBTQ youth my entire career, and as such, I know that the consensus is clear: conversion therapy is dangerous and causes harm. 

“Every major medical association in the country condemns conversion therapy because of its well-known and long-studied damage to the physical and mental wellbeing to young people.

“At Physicians for Reproductive Health, we listen to the evidence. The evidence is clear: conversion therapy is life-threatening. We envision a world where all young people are surrounded by the resources, care, and support they need to grow up and live full and authentic lives.”