Equality Caucus Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Bans on Conversion Therapy

WASHINGTON, DC — Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar today, a case on the constitutionality of Colorado’s ban on licensed mental health professionals engaging in conversion therapy for minors, Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano and Vice Chair Rep. Ted Lieu released the following statements:

“Conversion ‘therapy’ is a discredited and deceptive practice that hurts patients and families. Almost half of states have taken steps to protect young LGBTQI+ people from these cruel practices, which I hope the Supreme Court will rightly recognize as a just and constitutional use of their powers,” said Rep. Mark Takano, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Earlier this summer, I was proud to lead 187 Members of Congress—alongside Rep. Ted Lieu, the author of California’s conversion therapy ban and the first federal bill to ban conversion therapy, and Senator Jeff Merkley—in calling on the Supreme Court to uphold states’ ability to protect young LGBTQI+ people from these harmful practices opposed by every major medical association. Today, as the Court hears oral arguments, I renew my call to the Justices: protect young LGBTQI+ people from conversion ‘therapy’ and uphold Colorado’s ban.”

“Chiles v. Salazar is about states being able to protect kids from the fraudulent practice of conversion therapy,” said Rep. Ted Lieu, Vice Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Conversion therapy is a scam, plain and simple. That is why I authored and passed the first statewide ban on conversion therapy for minors in the country. I am pleased to join my Congressional Equality Caucus colleagues in the fight to uphold these state bans.”


BACKGROUND
“Conversion therapy” refers to range of discredited practices that have long been known to cause significant and lasting psychological harm to patients by purportedly forcing patients to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.  These practices are often aimed at minors, and evidence shows that LGBTQ+ youth who undergo conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide compared to those who did not. All major U.S. medical or mental healthcare associations have condemned conversion therapy, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. As of 2025, 23 states and D.C. entirely prohibit—and 4 states and Puerto Rico restrict—licensed healthcare providers from subjecting LGBTQI+ minors to conversion therapy.

In August, CEC Chair Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Vice Chair Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led 187 Members of Congress in an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold Colorado’s conversion therapy ban. Read the Equality Caucus’s press release on the amicus brief here. Read the amicus brief here.

The Congressional Equality Caucus has endorsed H.R. 3243, the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2025, led by Rep. Ted Lieu, which would explicitly classify providing or advertising conversion therapy in exchange for monetary compensation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act.