10/04/2026
Canada is one of 28 countries that ban conversion practices, and conversion therapy has been a criminal offence here since 2022. A law on the books has not ended the practice. We continue to hear about conversion efforts in Canada, including prayer groups aimed at changing someone's orientation or gender identity, and church members sending people in same-sex marriages books about those who claim prayer and religion cured their homosexuality. These efforts cause harm, and survivors need support wherever they live. The community needs to be educated to recognize when these efforts are happening and what action they can take.
What happens to conversion therapy bans in the United States now that the Supreme Court has struck one down?
A new Viewpoint in JAMA Health Forum, written by researchers at Vanderbilt University, takes up that question. In March 2026, the Court ruled 8 to 1 in Chiles v Salazar that Colorado's law barring licensed therapists from practising conversion therapy on minors violated the First Amendment, treating talk therapy as protected speech. Similar laws in 22 other states are now open to legal challenge.
The authors argue the ruling ignores how therapy actually works. Psychotherapy is licensed, billed, insured, and held to malpractice standards as medical care. They also restate the evidence of harm:
Nearly 1 in 10 sexual minority people have been subjected to sexual orientation change efforts.
Survivors are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, plans, or attempts, along with lower self-esteem and higher rates of substance use.
State bans were associated with substantial declines in suicidality among 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.
UN human rights experts have said these practices can amount to torture.
The authors point to protections that remain available: laws allowing survivors to sue practitioners for harm (Colorado passed one in June), consumer fraud laws targeting the sale of conversion therapy as effective treatment, ending public funding for it, and continued investigations by licensing boards.
Read the full article:
This Viewpoint discusses the implications of Chiles v Salazar and sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts for le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender, q***r, or questioning (LGBTQ+) populations.
