Colorado moves forward with bill to reform treatment after Supreme Court ruling
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The Democratic-controlled Colorado House passed a bill Thursday that would allow people injured by prescription drugs to sue medical providers, days after the Supreme Court blocked enforcement of a state ban on the practice.
HB26-1322 would establish a mechanism for Coloradans to bring civil lawsuits against licensed mental health professionals accused of causing harm through attempts to change a person’s gender or gender identity.
The bill also allows people to seek legal action against organizations that hired and supervised a professional who performed conversion therapy. The bill now heads to the state Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats, for consideration.
The rating can open the door to lawsuits years after treatment and expose providers to significant financial liability.
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Students listen to a man explain the significance of the statues that adorn the US Supreme Court building on March 31, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
The law was advanced a few days after the US Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot enforce a ban on conversion therapy regarding conversations between therapists and LGBTQ+ children, arguing that the law may violate the First Amendment by allowing some views but not others.
In an 8-1 decision on Tuesday, the court said the law favors one view by allowing doctors to confirm a child’s gender or sexual orientation, but not help them change it if they want to.
Matt Soper, a Republican in the Colorado House, told Fox News Digital that the new bill pushed by Democrats is “a slap in the face” to the Supreme Court.
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Demonstrators protest the change outside the US Supreme Court as the Court hears oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a landmark case of conversion therapy, Oct. 7, 2025, Washington, DC (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
“We have a bill designed to completely ban conversion therapy going forward,” Soper said.
“That touches the heart of the average American, that the Supreme Court can’t even have a decision out of the press before you have a legislature that is already pushing to reverse what the Supreme Court just issued,” he continued.
“Frankly, there’s no sense of what the law is or can be in the Supreme Court when you have districts already working hard to undermine the 8-1 decision.
“The American people don’t like it when you have a legislature that tries to overthrow or undermine the highest court in the land before the press even cools.”
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Colorado lawmakers passed a bill allowing lawsuits over “conversion therapy” days after a Supreme Court ruling weakened the state’s ban. (Getty Images)
The bill’s sponsors in the Colorado House, Reps. Alex Valdez and Karen McCormick, released a statement following the high court’s decision, insisting that conversion therapy is “ineffective and dangerous.”
“In Colorado, you belong. Now more than ever, we must protect LGBTQ+ Coloradans from the dangerous practices of conversion therapy. We vow to continue to move forward to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado,” the lawmakers said.
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The Supreme Court decision stems from a lawsuit brought by Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian therapist, who argued that her conversations with youth clients were a form of protected speech.
Colorado’s government said the negotiations are the same as good behavior the state is allowed to regulate.
The lawsuit centered on a law Colorado passed in 2019 that bans what the state government describes as conversion therapy.
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While the 2019 law required claims against providers to be filed within two years, HB26-1322 would remove time limits for bringing legal action, and if the victim is deceased, their representatives can pursue damages within five years of the person’s death.
Soper criticized the bill for lacking a limit on the amount recoverable or a statute of limitations on claims.
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“A mental health therapist can actually be guilty for the rest of his life,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
