On March 31, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in my case, Chiles v. Salazar. At issue is a Colorado law that prohibits licensed counselors like me from talking to gender-confused children to help them reacquaint themselves with their bodies — even if that’s what the children want. I filed suit with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom to challenge this censorship, and the judges have now ruled 8-1 in my favor.
It is reassuring that the court protects freedom of expression. While officials in Colorado honestly think a boy can become a girl, our country was founded on the right to engage in healthy debate — even when the government disagrees with us.
This statement also helps protect the mental, physical and emotional health of our children. But Colorado’s law puts their health at risk. Specifically, this law required counselors like me to avoid conversations with young clients who wanted to realign their identity with their gender, while encouraging children to reject their gender.
SUPREME COURT BLOCKS COLORADO’S SO-CALLED ‘CONVERSION THERAPY’ BAN ON FIRST AMENDMENT GROUNDS
In effect, the state forces counselors to remain silent or participate in a one-size-fits-all mandate that pushes children down the path of gender transition and toward dangerous drugs and surgeries. This mandate prohibits certain children and families from getting the guidance they want that actually helps them – guidance to help them accept their bodies. Colorado thinks it knows better than families what guidance they should receive.
This victory calls for further action. I implore counselors to reconsider gender ideology’s claim that it is possible to be born in the wrong body, and to recommit to protecting young people.
The law also limits my best instincts as a critical thinker and clinically trained counselor. I should listen to my clients instead of steering them toward a state-determined conclusion. Instead, state law would force me to suppress both my beliefs and my professional training, even though that combination often causes clients to seek me out.
The Supreme Court Building can be seen in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on Tuesday that Colorado cannot enforce its so-called “conversion therapy” ban on conversations between therapists and minors, saying the law likely violates the First Amendment by allowing some viewpoints but not others. (Jon Elswick/AP)
The censorship in Colorado is robbing these young people of what they want most: someone to talk to who will listen sincerely… who will seek to understand their individual experiences and sensitivities… who can walk with them through their pain and confusion and help them find the path to thoughtful decisions and a happier future.
Fortunately, our highest court has now recognized the danger of what Colorado and other states have foisted on my appeal. Throughout history, government officials have repeatedly attempted to use censorship in the name of protecting people from hearing ideas deemed too dangerous. And once again the court had to explain why censorship cannot be the answer to our differences. In their decision, the justices offer Colorado a refresher on the basics of the First Amendment and affirm that the government cannot silence views in the advisory chamber.
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But this victory calls for further action. I implore counselors to reconsider gender ideology’s claim that it is possible to be born in the wrong body, and to recommit to protecting young people. Research shows that most children who experience gender dysphoria – including about 90% of children before puberty – will stop using it, meaning they will begin to identify with their given gender. But these natural resistance rates drop once children begin to go through social transition and are treated as the opposite sex. And less resistance means that a greater number of children end up having to undergo harmful drugs and surgeries without proven benefits.
U.S. Supreme Court justices pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on October 7, 2022. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
The fact that some professions cite their own authority as ‘evidence’, and some in the media embrace this fad, does not mean this is so. Instead, we should study the science that flatly contradicts the fad – and do so with the same honesty and rigor that we apply to the other issues of our profession. As a profession, let us admit that, according to many, we have lost public trust and that we must work to rebuild it.
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The children who struggle with identity issues deserve this.
These are the opportunities that the Supreme Court’s ruling will make possible. I hope we can share the justices’ commitment to protecting young people and their families from bad science, compromised freedoms, and political infringements on the right to pursue the truth without being silenced.
Kaley Chiles is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado.
