The ruling sided with Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, holding that Colorado's 2019 law likely violates free speech rights under the First Amendment.
In the majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the law does not just regulate professional conduct, but also controls the content of speech based on viewpoint.
He emphasized that the freedom of thought and expression must be protected, even amid heated debates over issues such as gender identity and sexual orientation in young people.
Colorado's law prohibits professionals from practicing methods intended to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity, with fines of up to $5,000 and license revocation. This law is similar to regulations in about 20 other states, which sometimes lead to complex student-related issues in educational and psychological counseling environments.
Colorado argued this was a public health measure, based on the views of many medical organizations like the American Medical Association, which state the method is ineffective and potentially harmful.
However, the US Supreme Court held that Colorado's application was viewpoint discriminatory, allowing some counseling content while banning others.
In her dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argued that the state has the right to set professional standards for medical services, and that the law aims to protect minors from treatments deemed harmful.
Justice Elena Kagan issued a partial concurrence, suggesting that if the law were designed to be more content-neutral, it might create a different legal debate.
This ruling reverses a previous federal appeals court decision from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and remands the case to the lower court for reconsideration.
The case marks another significant step in a series of controversial incidents in Colorado regarding free speech and LGBTQ policies, where the state has previously lost several major cases at the Supreme Court.
