WASHINGTON DC — The Supreme Court struck down Colorado's ban on conversion therapy in an 8-1 decision. The court reversed a lower court's decision that had upheld Colorado's ban on the practice.

Psychotherapist Kaley Chiles brought the case, arguing that the ban violated her First Amendment right to free speech. The decision was in favor of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group.

The Colorado law prohibits licensed mental health clinicians from providing conversion therapy aimed at changing a patient's sexual orientation or gender identity. Colorado is one of more than 20 US states that have banned conversion therapy practices. Major medical associations have stated that conversion therapy tactics are ineffective and harmful.

Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a lone dissent in the Supreme Court decision. "The majority has failed to appreciate the crucial context in which Chiles's constitutional claims have arisen. Chiles is not speaking in the ether; she is providing therapy to minors as a licensed healthcare professional. It cannot also be the case that Colorado's decision to restrict a dangerous therapy modality that, incidentally, involves provider speech is presumptively unconstitutional," Jackson wrote.