AFSP DENOUNCES SUPREME COURT DECISION ON CONVERSION THERAPY

NEW YORK, March 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Chiles v. Salazar, centered around Colorado's 2019 law prohibiting the practice of conversion therapy with minors, ruling 8-1 in favor of rejecting the Colorado law, therefore lifting the state ban on conversion therapy.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) strongly opposes conversion therapy practices, based on scientific evidence that shows its harmful mental health impacts. AFSP's opposition to conversion therapy is guided by scientific evidence, not politics. Numerous scientific studies* and economic analyses clearly show these practices are harmful, unethical, ineffective, and increase suicide risk among LGBTQ+ youth. Every major medical organization in the U.S. has condemned conversion therapy, and the United Nations has called for an international ban.

"With this ruling, we are deeply concerned about the message this sends to youth who need physical and mental health services that are gender-affirming. Having spaces where youth can safely express their identities and receive care is critical for mental health and can be lifesaving," said AFSP Chief Medical Officer Dr. Christine Yu Moutier. "As we celebrate Trans Day of Visibility, this moment emboldens our efforts to fight against laws that detrimentally impact the mental health and endanger the lives of all LGBTQ+ youth and individuals."

"Conversion therapy" is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of practices or interventions based on the belief that a person's sexual orientation or gender identity can and should be changed to straight/heterosexual and cisgender.

We know that increased suicide risk is not inherent to being LGBTQ+, but is instead worsened by undue prejudice, discrimination, and violence against them. State-level laws against transgender people have grown and research shows that these laws led to an increase in suicide attempts by transgender and nonbinary youth. With this Supreme Court ruling, similar prohibitions on conversion therapy are under threat of being challenged in more than twenty states.

In September 2025, AFSP, The Trevor Project, and NAMI filed an amicus brief in Chiles v. Salazar to protect LGBTQ+ youth against conversion therapy because reducing suicide risk in vulnerable populations is at the core of our mission to prevent suicide. AFSP supports affirmative and evidence-based approaches like Attachment-Based Family Therapy that foster acceptance and open communication related to youth identities, with research from the Family Acceptance Project demonstrating that family acceptance significantly reduces suicidal ideation and behavior in LGBTQ+ youth.

AFSP remains dedicated to suicide prevention for the LGBTQ+ community, and we will continue advocating for policies and practices that protect mental health and reduce suicide risk.

Learn more about AFSP's efforts to prevent suicide and support mental health among LGBTQ+ youth and individuals here. If you want to support members of this community or are a member of this community and need help, see resources that can help here.

Media interested in speaking with AFSP on this news are encouraged to fill out this press request form and explore AFSP's Safe Storytelling Studio for ethical reporting guidance.

* Sources:

• United Nations. (2020). Global ban needed on bogus 'conversion therapy', argues UN rights expert. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066652
• Campbell, T., & Rodgers, Y. V. M. (2023). Conversion therapy, suicidality, and running away: An analysis of transgender youth in the U.S. Journal of health economics, 89, 102750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2023.102750
• Green, A. E., Price-Feeney, M., Dorison, S. H., & Pick, C. J. (2020). Self-Reported Conversion Efforts and Suicidality Among US LGBTQ Youths and Young Adults, 2018. American journal of public health, 110(8), 1221–1227. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305701
• Forsythe A, Pick C, Tremblay G, Malaviya S, Green A, Sandman K. Humanistic and Economic Burden of Conversion Therapy Among LGBTQ Youths in the United States. JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(5):493–501. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0042
• What We Know Project, Cornell University. (2016). What Does the Scholarly Research Say about Whether Conversion Therapy Can Alter Sexual Orientation Without Causing Harm? https://whatweknow.inequality.cornell.edu/topics/lgbt-equality/what-does-the-scholarly-research-say-about-whether-conversion-therapy-can-alter-sexual-orientation-without-causing-harm/
• Lee, W.Y., Hobbs, J.N., Hobaica, S. et al. State-level anti-transgender laws increase past-year suicide attempts among transgender and non-binary young people in the USA. Nat Hum Behav 8, 2096–2106 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01979-5
• Diamond, G., Diamond, G. M., & Levy, S. (2021). Attachment-based family therapy: Theory, clinical model, outcomes, and process research. Journal of affective disorders, 294, 286–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.005
• Russon, J., Smithee, L., Simpson, S., Levy, S., & Diamond, G. (2022). Demonstrating Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth with Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior: A Case Study. Family process, 61(1), 230–245. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12677
• Ryan, C., Huebner, D., Diaz, R. M., & Sanchez, J. (2009). Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in white and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults. Pediatrics, 123(1), 346–352. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-3524

SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention