AFPI Applauds Supreme Court Decision Protecting Free Speech in Counseling
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) applauds today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court in Chiles v. Salazar, a case addressing whether the government can control what licensed counselors are allowed to say to their clients.
Across the country, an alarming trend has emerged: states are beginning to criminalize conversations between therapists and children. In Colorado, House Bill 25-1312 made it illegal for licensed professionals to provide “talk therapy” to help minors explore or reconcile their feelings about gender unless the therapist immediately affirms a self-declared identity. Supporters claimed the law protected vulnerable youth. In reality, it silenced them—and their therapists. A licensed counselor challenged the law, arguing that it shut down open, client-directed conversations and forced professionals to deliver a one-sided, government-approved message.
The Supreme Court agreed, holding that Colorado’s law amounts to an “egregious assault” on the right to think and speak freely.
“The government has no business dictating what can be said in a private counseling session,” said AFPI chief legal affairs officer Leigh Ann O’Neill. “This ruling makes clear that the First Amendment protects the freedom to speak openly, even when the government disagrees with what is said.”
“Therapists have a sacred duty to protect the best interests of the clients entrusted to their care, and that duty requires the freedom to listen, ask hard questions, and speak truthfully without fear of government punishment,” added Dr. Jennifer Bauwens, director for American Values at AFPI. “When the state imposes authoritarian speech restrictions on counseling, it undermines the therapeutic relationship and makes real clinical care impossible.”
Colorado’s law prevented the counselor in this case, a Christian, from acting in alignment with her religious beliefs while counseling minor clients suffering from gender confusion. Instead, the law attempted to force her to affirm views she does not hold—an unconstitutional form of compelled speech that violates the First Amendment.
“As a Christian, I believe that all people, especially children, are created in the image of God,” said Dr. Rich Rogers, vice chair for American Values at AFPI. “To force a person of faith to subvert their beliefs and encourage delusions that are against their faith is a violation of the principle of religious liberty on which this Nation was founded.”