We the People Do Bans on Conversion Therapy Violate the First Amendment?
Oct 9, 2025
Join legal experts Stephanie Barclay, a Georgetown law professor specializing in free speech and religious exercise, and Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law and renowned constitutional scholar. They dive into the contentious Colorado ban on conversion therapy and its implications for the First Amendment. Key discussions include whether this ban constitutes viewpoint discrimination, the balance of state power in regulating medical standards, and the complex intersection of free speech and professional conduct in therapy practices.
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Pure Speech Versus Medical Conduct
- Stephanie Barclay argues Colorado's ban targets pure, client-directed talk therapy and therefore regulates speech, not conduct.
- She contends the law is viewpoint discrimination and likely fails strict scrutiny without causal evidence of harm.
States Setting Standards Of Care
- Erwin Chemerinsky emphasizes states routinely set medical standards and can regulate professional speech as part of care.
- He argues overwhelming professional consensus shows conversion therapy is harmful, meriting deference to legislatures.
NIFLA Limits Professional-Speech Exception
- Barclay distinguishes speech that is incidental to medical procedures from speech that itself is treatment.
- She cites NIFLA to argue labeling speech as treatment doesn't remove full First Amendment protection.
