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The Actual Protections of "Parental Rights" When It Comes to "Conversion Therapy”
State laws restricting conversion therapy apply only to licensed mental health professionals, not to parents, pastors, or faith communities.
Quick Takeaways
State laws restricting conversion therapy apply only to licensed mental health professionals, not to parents, pastors, or faith communities.
Parents retain full authority to pursue pastoral counseling, faith-rooted family support, and open conversations at home.
Courts have ruled the core promises of conversion therapy to be fraudulent, meaning families are being misled, not helped.
In Chiles v. Salazar, Alliance Defending Freedom is arguing that licensed therapists should be able to make those same discredited promises, free from state oversight.
A practice that divides families is not a parental right. It is a liability.
What "Parental Rights" Language Is Actually Doing in This Conversation
The phrase "parental rights" carries genuine weight for Christian families, and it should. The responsibility for a child's formation belongs with parents. That is rooted in scripture and recognized across centuries of legal tradition.
That is precisely why the conversion therapy industry has spent years borrowing that language.
When organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom argue that laws protecting minors from conversion therapy violate parental rights, they are asking parents to believe that their freedom depends on preserving access to a practice courts have already found to be fraudulent. That framing deserves a much closer look.
What the Laws Actually Say
Conversion therapy restrictions in more than 20 states share the same narrow scope: they prohibit licensed mental health professionals from attempting to change a minor's same-sex attraction or how a child sees themselves. You can review conversion therapy laws by state to see exactly where restrictions apply and what they cover.
Parents are not regulated by these laws. Churches are not regulated. Pastors, youth ministers, and mentors remain entirely free to offer faith-grounded counsel and family support. Colorado's Minor Conversion Therapy Law, now at the center of Chiles v. Salazar, was enacted as part of the state's Mental Health Practice Act specifically to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare of Coloradans. It applies to licensed professionals because licensed professionals have special access to vulnerable people, and that access comes with accountability.
Holding a licensed therapist to a standard of care is not an attack on families. It is how professional licensing has always worked.
The Real Threat to Parental Authority
Parents often feel they are being pushed out of the conversation about their child's wellbeing. That instinct is worth trusting. But conversion therapy, as it actually operates, is one of the clearest examples of outside practitioners inserting themselves between parents and their children.
Many of these programs work behind closed doors, under the cover of doctor-patient confidentiality, with little transparency about what is being said to a child. Practitioners frequently tell families that the root cause of a child's questions about who they are lies in the parents' own failures: mothers who were too close, fathers who were too distant. Families pay significant sums to be told they failed their child, and then watch their relationship with that child deteriorate.
A 2022 analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics estimated the annual economic burden of conversion therapy and its downstream harms, including depression treatment, substance abuse, and lost productivity, at $9.23 billion across the United States. Families absorb much of that cost in money, in grief, and in broken trust.
Courts have agreed these practices constitute fraud. In Ferguson v. JONAH, a New Jersey jury unanimously found that a major conversion therapy organization violated consumer fraud law by promising outcomes it could not deliver. The organization's own "success story" witnesses testified under oath that they had not experienced the changes they were marketed as representing. There was, in the judge's words, no factual basis for the success statistics these programs advertise.
That is not a parental right. That is a scam.
What Chiles v. Salazar Is Really Asking the Court to Decide
What is Chiles v. Salazar, and why does it matter for your family? The case involves a Colorado therapist, Kaley Chiles, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, who is challenging Colorado's law restricting conversion therapy for minors. Her argument is that the law violates her First Amendment free speech rights as a licensed professional.
In plain terms: the argument is that a licensed therapist should be able to say anything to a child in a private clinical setting, including things courts have already found to be false and harmful, as long as it is framed as speech rather than regulated medical practice.
That framing should concern Christian parents who care about parental authority. If professional speech is deregulated in this way, it means any practitioner could work with your child behind closed doors, with no accountability to the standards of care that licensing is designed to enforce. That is not a protection for families. It is an argument for removing oversight of professional access to your children.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in October 2025. A decision is pending.
What Genuine Parental Authority Looks Like
Real parental authority is exercised in the home, in faith communities, and in the ongoing relationship between a parent and their child. It is not outsourced to a practitioner charging thousands of dollars to work with your child in private.
Parents have every legal right to seek pastoral support, pursue family counseling focused on connection, pray together, and engage their faith community. Understanding the documented risks of conversion therapy is part of exercising that authority wisely, and the research is clear: family connection is the single most protective factor in a child's life.
A practice that divides a family is not a solution. It is a harm dressed in the language of care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do state conversion therapy laws take away my rights as a parent?
No. These laws apply only to licensed mental health professionals. Parents, pastors, and faith communities are not regulated by them. You retain full authority to seek pastoral counseling and pursue faith-aligned family support.
Can I still take my child to a Christian counselor?
Yes. Laws restricting conversion therapy do not prohibit faith-based counseling. They prohibit a specific clinical practice by licensed professionals. A counselor focused on family connection, emotional health, and honest communication is practicing within accepted standards of care.
What is Chiles v. Salazar and why does it matter for families?
Chiles v. Salazar is a Supreme Court case in which Alliance Defending Freedom is challenging Colorado's conversion therapy law. A ruling favoring the therapist could reduce state-level oversight of what licensed professionals say and do with minors in private clinical settings.
Why have courts called conversion therapy fraudulent?
In Ferguson v. JONAH, a New Jersey jury found unanimously that a major conversion therapy organization violated consumer fraud law. The judge found no factual basis for the success statistics it advertised. The organization's own witnesses testified they had not experienced the changes they were presented as proof of.
What can I do as a parent who wants faith-grounded support?
Seek licensed counselors who focus on family relationships and emotional wellbeing rather than promising to change who your child is. Look for pastoral support from others who have navigated similar seasons. Research consistently shows that parental presence and warmth are the most protective forces in a child's life.
Sources and Further Reading
Conversion Therapy Laws by State: A Plain-Language Guide for Christian Families -- Conversion Truth for Families -- A state-by-state overview of where conversion therapy restrictions apply, what they cover, and what remains fully available to parents and faith communities in every state.
Chiles v. Salazar: What the Case Is, Why It Matters, and What a Ruling Could Mean -- Conversion Truth for Families -- CT4F's hub page on the pending Supreme Court case, including the role of Alliance Defending Freedom, the First Amendment arguments at stake, and implications for families across the country.
The Mental Health Research on Conversion Therapy: What the Evidence Actually Shows -- Conversion Truth for Families -- A research summary examining peer-reviewed findings on the documented harms of conversion therapy, organized for parents seeking to evaluate claims from practitioners and advocacy organizations.
Economic Burden of Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Among LGBTQ Youth -- JAMA Pediatrics (2022) -- The peer-reviewed study estimating $9.23 billion in annual societal costs attributable to conversion therapy and its downstream effects, including depression, substance abuse, and suicidal crises, among minors in the United States.
Publicaciones recientes
The Actual Protections of "Parental Rights" When It Comes to "Conversion Therapy”
State laws restricting conversion therapy apply only to licensed mental health professionals, not to parents, pastors, or faith communities.
Quick Takeaways
State laws restricting conversion therapy apply only to licensed mental health professionals, not to parents, pastors, or faith communities.
Parents retain full authority to pursue pastoral counseling, faith-rooted family support, and open conversations at home.
Courts have ruled the core promises of conversion therapy to be fraudulent, meaning families are being misled, not helped.
In Chiles v. Salazar, Alliance Defending Freedom is arguing that licensed therapists should be able to make those same discredited promises, free from state oversight.
A practice that divides families is not a parental right. It is a liability.
What "Parental Rights" Language Is Actually Doing in This Conversation
The phrase "parental rights" carries genuine weight for Christian families, and it should. The responsibility for a child's formation belongs with parents. That is rooted in scripture and recognized across centuries of legal tradition.
That is precisely why the conversion therapy industry has spent years borrowing that language.
When organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom argue that laws protecting minors from conversion therapy violate parental rights, they are asking parents to believe that their freedom depends on preserving access to a practice courts have already found to be fraudulent. That framing deserves a much closer look.
What the Laws Actually Say
Conversion therapy restrictions in more than 20 states share the same narrow scope: they prohibit licensed mental health professionals from attempting to change a minor's same-sex attraction or how a child sees themselves. You can review conversion therapy laws by state to see exactly where restrictions apply and what they cover.
Parents are not regulated by these laws. Churches are not regulated. Pastors, youth ministers, and mentors remain entirely free to offer faith-grounded counsel and family support. Colorado's Minor Conversion Therapy Law, now at the center of Chiles v. Salazar, was enacted as part of the state's Mental Health Practice Act specifically to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare of Coloradans. It applies to licensed professionals because licensed professionals have special access to vulnerable people, and that access comes with accountability.
Holding a licensed therapist to a standard of care is not an attack on families. It is how professional licensing has always worked.
The Real Threat to Parental Authority
Parents often feel they are being pushed out of the conversation about their child's wellbeing. That instinct is worth trusting. But conversion therapy, as it actually operates, is one of the clearest examples of outside practitioners inserting themselves between parents and their children.
Many of these programs work behind closed doors, under the cover of doctor-patient confidentiality, with little transparency about what is being said to a child. Practitioners frequently tell families that the root cause of a child's questions about who they are lies in the parents' own failures: mothers who were too close, fathers who were too distant. Families pay significant sums to be told they failed their child, and then watch their relationship with that child deteriorate.
A 2022 analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics estimated the annual economic burden of conversion therapy and its downstream harms, including depression treatment, substance abuse, and lost productivity, at $9.23 billion across the United States. Families absorb much of that cost in money, in grief, and in broken trust.
Courts have agreed these practices constitute fraud. In Ferguson v. JONAH, a New Jersey jury unanimously found that a major conversion therapy organization violated consumer fraud law by promising outcomes it could not deliver. The organization's own "success story" witnesses testified under oath that they had not experienced the changes they were marketed as representing. There was, in the judge's words, no factual basis for the success statistics these programs advertise.
That is not a parental right. That is a scam.
What Chiles v. Salazar Is Really Asking the Court to Decide
What is Chiles v. Salazar, and why does it matter for your family? The case involves a Colorado therapist, Kaley Chiles, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, who is challenging Colorado's law restricting conversion therapy for minors. Her argument is that the law violates her First Amendment free speech rights as a licensed professional.
In plain terms: the argument is that a licensed therapist should be able to say anything to a child in a private clinical setting, including things courts have already found to be false and harmful, as long as it is framed as speech rather than regulated medical practice.
That framing should concern Christian parents who care about parental authority. If professional speech is deregulated in this way, it means any practitioner could work with your child behind closed doors, with no accountability to the standards of care that licensing is designed to enforce. That is not a protection for families. It is an argument for removing oversight of professional access to your children.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in October 2025. A decision is pending.
What Genuine Parental Authority Looks Like
Real parental authority is exercised in the home, in faith communities, and in the ongoing relationship between a parent and their child. It is not outsourced to a practitioner charging thousands of dollars to work with your child in private.
Parents have every legal right to seek pastoral support, pursue family counseling focused on connection, pray together, and engage their faith community. Understanding the documented risks of conversion therapy is part of exercising that authority wisely, and the research is clear: family connection is the single most protective factor in a child's life.
A practice that divides a family is not a solution. It is a harm dressed in the language of care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do state conversion therapy laws take away my rights as a parent?
No. These laws apply only to licensed mental health professionals. Parents, pastors, and faith communities are not regulated by them. You retain full authority to seek pastoral counseling and pursue faith-aligned family support.
Can I still take my child to a Christian counselor?
Yes. Laws restricting conversion therapy do not prohibit faith-based counseling. They prohibit a specific clinical practice by licensed professionals. A counselor focused on family connection, emotional health, and honest communication is practicing within accepted standards of care.
What is Chiles v. Salazar and why does it matter for families?
Chiles v. Salazar is a Supreme Court case in which Alliance Defending Freedom is challenging Colorado's conversion therapy law. A ruling favoring the therapist could reduce state-level oversight of what licensed professionals say and do with minors in private clinical settings.
Why have courts called conversion therapy fraudulent?
In Ferguson v. JONAH, a New Jersey jury found unanimously that a major conversion therapy organization violated consumer fraud law. The judge found no factual basis for the success statistics it advertised. The organization's own witnesses testified they had not experienced the changes they were presented as proof of.
What can I do as a parent who wants faith-grounded support?
Seek licensed counselors who focus on family relationships and emotional wellbeing rather than promising to change who your child is. Look for pastoral support from others who have navigated similar seasons. Research consistently shows that parental presence and warmth are the most protective forces in a child's life.
Sources and Further Reading
Conversion Therapy Laws by State: A Plain-Language Guide for Christian Families -- Conversion Truth for Families -- A state-by-state overview of where conversion therapy restrictions apply, what they cover, and what remains fully available to parents and faith communities in every state.
Chiles v. Salazar: What the Case Is, Why It Matters, and What a Ruling Could Mean -- Conversion Truth for Families -- CT4F's hub page on the pending Supreme Court case, including the role of Alliance Defending Freedom, the First Amendment arguments at stake, and implications for families across the country.
The Mental Health Research on Conversion Therapy: What the Evidence Actually Shows -- Conversion Truth for Families -- A research summary examining peer-reviewed findings on the documented harms of conversion therapy, organized for parents seeking to evaluate claims from practitioners and advocacy organizations.
Economic Burden of Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Among LGBTQ Youth -- JAMA Pediatrics (2022) -- The peer-reviewed study estimating $9.23 billion in annual societal costs attributable to conversion therapy and its downstream effects, including depression, substance abuse, and suicidal crises, among minors in the United States.
Publicaciones recientes
The Actual Protections of "Parental Rights" When It Comes to "Conversion Therapy”
State laws restricting conversion therapy apply only to licensed mental health professionals, not to parents, pastors, or faith communities.
Quick Takeaways
State laws restricting conversion therapy apply only to licensed mental health professionals, not to parents, pastors, or faith communities.
Parents retain full authority to pursue pastoral counseling, faith-rooted family support, and open conversations at home.
Courts have ruled the core promises of conversion therapy to be fraudulent, meaning families are being misled, not helped.
In Chiles v. Salazar, Alliance Defending Freedom is arguing that licensed therapists should be able to make those same discredited promises, free from state oversight.
A practice that divides families is not a parental right. It is a liability.
What "Parental Rights" Language Is Actually Doing in This Conversation
The phrase "parental rights" carries genuine weight for Christian families, and it should. The responsibility for a child's formation belongs with parents. That is rooted in scripture and recognized across centuries of legal tradition.
That is precisely why the conversion therapy industry has spent years borrowing that language.
When organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom argue that laws protecting minors from conversion therapy violate parental rights, they are asking parents to believe that their freedom depends on preserving access to a practice courts have already found to be fraudulent. That framing deserves a much closer look.
What the Laws Actually Say
Conversion therapy restrictions in more than 20 states share the same narrow scope: they prohibit licensed mental health professionals from attempting to change a minor's same-sex attraction or how a child sees themselves. You can review conversion therapy laws by state to see exactly where restrictions apply and what they cover.
Parents are not regulated by these laws. Churches are not regulated. Pastors, youth ministers, and mentors remain entirely free to offer faith-grounded counsel and family support. Colorado's Minor Conversion Therapy Law, now at the center of Chiles v. Salazar, was enacted as part of the state's Mental Health Practice Act specifically to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare of Coloradans. It applies to licensed professionals because licensed professionals have special access to vulnerable people, and that access comes with accountability.
Holding a licensed therapist to a standard of care is not an attack on families. It is how professional licensing has always worked.
The Real Threat to Parental Authority
Parents often feel they are being pushed out of the conversation about their child's wellbeing. That instinct is worth trusting. But conversion therapy, as it actually operates, is one of the clearest examples of outside practitioners inserting themselves between parents and their children.
Many of these programs work behind closed doors, under the cover of doctor-patient confidentiality, with little transparency about what is being said to a child. Practitioners frequently tell families that the root cause of a child's questions about who they are lies in the parents' own failures: mothers who were too close, fathers who were too distant. Families pay significant sums to be told they failed their child, and then watch their relationship with that child deteriorate.
A 2022 analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics estimated the annual economic burden of conversion therapy and its downstream harms, including depression treatment, substance abuse, and lost productivity, at $9.23 billion across the United States. Families absorb much of that cost in money, in grief, and in broken trust.
Courts have agreed these practices constitute fraud. In Ferguson v. JONAH, a New Jersey jury unanimously found that a major conversion therapy organization violated consumer fraud law by promising outcomes it could not deliver. The organization's own "success story" witnesses testified under oath that they had not experienced the changes they were marketed as representing. There was, in the judge's words, no factual basis for the success statistics these programs advertise.
That is not a parental right. That is a scam.
What Chiles v. Salazar Is Really Asking the Court to Decide
What is Chiles v. Salazar, and why does it matter for your family? The case involves a Colorado therapist, Kaley Chiles, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, who is challenging Colorado's law restricting conversion therapy for minors. Her argument is that the law violates her First Amendment free speech rights as a licensed professional.
In plain terms: the argument is that a licensed therapist should be able to say anything to a child in a private clinical setting, including things courts have already found to be false and harmful, as long as it is framed as speech rather than regulated medical practice.
That framing should concern Christian parents who care about parental authority. If professional speech is deregulated in this way, it means any practitioner could work with your child behind closed doors, with no accountability to the standards of care that licensing is designed to enforce. That is not a protection for families. It is an argument for removing oversight of professional access to your children.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in October 2025. A decision is pending.
What Genuine Parental Authority Looks Like
Real parental authority is exercised in the home, in faith communities, and in the ongoing relationship between a parent and their child. It is not outsourced to a practitioner charging thousands of dollars to work with your child in private.
Parents have every legal right to seek pastoral support, pursue family counseling focused on connection, pray together, and engage their faith community. Understanding the documented risks of conversion therapy is part of exercising that authority wisely, and the research is clear: family connection is the single most protective factor in a child's life.
A practice that divides a family is not a solution. It is a harm dressed in the language of care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do state conversion therapy laws take away my rights as a parent?
No. These laws apply only to licensed mental health professionals. Parents, pastors, and faith communities are not regulated by them. You retain full authority to seek pastoral counseling and pursue faith-aligned family support.
Can I still take my child to a Christian counselor?
Yes. Laws restricting conversion therapy do not prohibit faith-based counseling. They prohibit a specific clinical practice by licensed professionals. A counselor focused on family connection, emotional health, and honest communication is practicing within accepted standards of care.
What is Chiles v. Salazar and why does it matter for families?
Chiles v. Salazar is a Supreme Court case in which Alliance Defending Freedom is challenging Colorado's conversion therapy law. A ruling favoring the therapist could reduce state-level oversight of what licensed professionals say and do with minors in private clinical settings.
Why have courts called conversion therapy fraudulent?
In Ferguson v. JONAH, a New Jersey jury found unanimously that a major conversion therapy organization violated consumer fraud law. The judge found no factual basis for the success statistics it advertised. The organization's own witnesses testified they had not experienced the changes they were presented as proof of.
What can I do as a parent who wants faith-grounded support?
Seek licensed counselors who focus on family relationships and emotional wellbeing rather than promising to change who your child is. Look for pastoral support from others who have navigated similar seasons. Research consistently shows that parental presence and warmth are the most protective forces in a child's life.
Sources and Further Reading
Conversion Therapy Laws by State: A Plain-Language Guide for Christian Families -- Conversion Truth for Families -- A state-by-state overview of where conversion therapy restrictions apply, what they cover, and what remains fully available to parents and faith communities in every state.
Chiles v. Salazar: What the Case Is, Why It Matters, and What a Ruling Could Mean -- Conversion Truth for Families -- CT4F's hub page on the pending Supreme Court case, including the role of Alliance Defending Freedom, the First Amendment arguments at stake, and implications for families across the country.
The Mental Health Research on Conversion Therapy: What the Evidence Actually Shows -- Conversion Truth for Families -- A research summary examining peer-reviewed findings on the documented harms of conversion therapy, organized for parents seeking to evaluate claims from practitioners and advocacy organizations.
Economic Burden of Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Among LGBTQ Youth -- JAMA Pediatrics (2022) -- The peer-reviewed study estimating $9.23 billion in annual societal costs attributable to conversion therapy and its downstream effects, including depression, substance abuse, and suicidal crises, among minors in the United States.