Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general defending a Colorado law that prohibits licensed health care professionals from practicing conversion “therapy” on minors. Conversion “therapy,” also called sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts, is a harmful and ineffective practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

In an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Colorado’s law, Raoul and the coalition argue that conversion therapy is not a safe or effective treatment for any condition, puts youth at risk of serious harms, including increased risks of suicide and depression, and falls below the standard of care for mental health practitioners.

“Leading medical organizations all agree – conversion therapy is a dangerous practice that jeopardizes the safety and health of LGBTQ+ youth,” Raoul said. “I will continue to partner with attorneys general from across the country to protect LGBTQ+ youth who have a right to be their authentic selves.”

Colorado’s law prohibits licensed health professionals from practicing conversion therapy on children and youth. The statute was challenged in federal court by a licensed counselor who supports conversion therapy for minors. Most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the law, ruling that Colorado is entitled to regulate professional conduct, particularly where there is evidence of harm. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in this case on October 7, 2025.

Raoul and the coalition highlight in their brief that “voluminous studies” have demonstrated “the practice’s harms to children and the consensus of all leading medical and mental health organizations that conversion therapy should not be conducted on children.” The practice is repudiated by all leading medical and mental professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association. As a result of this consensus view, Illinois is one of over 25 states that bans or restricts conversion therapy.

The brief outlines why the court should reject the arguments against Colorado’s prohibition of the practice on minors: 

• The First Amendment does not shield dangerous and ineffective healthcare practices, including mental health, from regulation, nor does it allow licensed providers to operate below a certain standard of care.
• Such laws are consistent with states’ long history of establishing and regulating professional standards of care.
• Striking down such a law would likely create profound unintended consequences for states’ authority to regulate professional practices within their borders as they have throughout most of the nation’s history. 

Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.