Supreme Court Showdown: Parental Rights, Therapy Bans, and the Battle for Children

·19 min·1 clip

Colorado therapist Kaylee Childs sued the state after a law threatened her license for helping minors with gender dysphoria.

The episode begins with host Ken introducing Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder of the Ruth Institute, framing the discussion around children's well-being. Morse explains the Childs v. Salazar case, involving Christian therapist Kaylee Childs in Colorado who challenged a law banning therapy that aims to change sexual orientation or gender identity. She clarifies that the term 'conversion therapy' is ideologically loaded and often refers to voluntary talk therapy for minors with parental consent. The conversation highlights how the law effectively denies minors the help they seek for gender dysphoria or same-sex attraction. Morse notes the Supreme Court's 8-1 ruling found the law constituted viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment, citing Justice Elena Kagan's example during oral arguments. She describes the international context, where similar bans in Australia extend to outlawing prayer about same-sex attraction. The discussion turns to the well-funded propaganda campaigns by organizations like the Trevor Project and Human Rights Campaign, which frame such therapy as always harmful. After a break, Morse details the immediate legislative backlash in Colorado and California, introducing bills that create private causes of action allowing lawsuits against therapists with hefty fines. She explains this as 'lawfare' designed to scare therapists out of the profession. Morse then distinguishes between authentic gender dysphoria and gender ideology, mentioning autogynephilia (AGP) as a fetish category. She references her article categorizing nine types of people labeled transgender, from intersex conditions to opportunistic athletes. The episode concludes with Morse emphasizing the need to accompany those with authentic dysphoria, hindered by these laws, and the host thanking her for the discussion.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Ruth Institute Podcast