Bristol, Tenn.—April 1, 2026—Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, applauds yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court’s important and monumental 8-1 decision in Chiles v. Salazar. This decision supports the First Amendment free speech rights of mental health professionals and condemns Colorado’s 2019 law to censor viewpoints affirming biological truth.

“We celebrate the Court’s affirmation that licensed counselors in Colorado must be free to respond to patient/client autonomy and pursue change-allowing therapy when this is the clearly communicated goal of patients and/or their parents,” said CMDA Chief Executive Officer Mike Chupp, MD, FACS. “This significant decision also reflects a crucial stance in protecting the physical, psychological and spiritual well-being of children.”

CMDA contributed an amicus brief in this case, which was led by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys representing Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor practicing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Chiles, a Christian who serves clients who often seek religiously informed care that aligns with traditional biblical understandings of sexuality and gender, argued that Colorado’s 2019 law banning so-called conversion therapy violated her freedom of speech. This law prohibited licensed counselors like her from engaging in voluntary counseling conversations with clients under age 18 who want to change some expression, behavior, identity, or feeling associated with their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Prior to the enactment of the 2019 Colorado law banning so-called conversion therapy for minors, Chiles counseled clients, including minors, in accordance with their self-identified goals, which sometimes included diminishing same-sex attractions or aligning gender identity with biological sex. This victory and U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Chiles v. Salazar will help protect counselors from similar laws in more than 20 states and over 100 localities across the country, freeing them to help struggling youth seeking professional guidance.

“This is a great victory for our healthcare profession,” said CMDA Vice President of Advocacy and Bioethics Brick Lantz, MD, “More importantly, it’s a great victory for our patients actively struggling with these issues who need compassion, caring counselors to help them.”

CMDA is dedicated to advocating to upholding the conscience freedoms of healthcare professionals like Chiles, as well as the rights of their vulnerable patients. CMDA’s Ethics Statement on Conscience in Healthcare is available at cmda.org/ethics. For more information, visit cmda.org.

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