Christian group defending LGBTQ+ conversion therapy at SCOTUS accused of using 'false evidence'

The group fighting to protect so-called conversion therapy in the U.S. Supreme Court case Chiles v. Salazar has been accused of misrepresenting its evidence by the very researchers it cites.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group that has played a pivotal role in several court cases involving abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights, will argue before the nation's high court Tuesday that justices should strike down state laws banning conversion therapy for minors. The group cites a 2016 study by Lisa Diamond and Clifford Rosky, who have since condemned the ADF for “profoundly” misrepresenting their findings.

“It’s deceptive,” Rosky recently told The Guardian. “Lawyers owe a duty of candor to the court. You cannot offer false evidence, and if you do so accidentally and find out, you have to correct that. ... They claim our work supports conversion therapy when our work clearly and specifically condemns conversion therapy on the same page they’re citing.”

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The ADF included in its arguments a section of the paper that states “Sexual orientation changes for many people. Respected researchers of LGBT issues have long observed that ‘longitudinal, population-based studies’ show ‘changes in the same-sex attractions of some individuals over time.'" However, the ADF left out the information stating it is “change that occurs outside the context of [conversion therapy]."

The ADF failed to include any information from the paper that demonstrated conversion therapy is “not only ineffective in changing sexual orientation but ... psychologically damaging, often resulting in elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality" — the thesis of the report.

Conversion therapy, also referred to as "reparative therapy," has been denounced by the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, World Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, and every other major medical organization. The World Health Organization concludes that the practice “lacks medical justification and represents a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people," including significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-destructive behavior, suicidal idealization, and suicide attempts.

Chiles v. Salazar was brought by Kaley Chiles, a counselor in Colorado, against Patty Salazar, executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, over the state's ban on conversion therapy for minors. Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have similar laws barring licensed mental health providers from subjecting minors to practices aimed at changing their sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

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The ADF, which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has been involved in several Supreme Court cases, including Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the right to abortion nationally. It also represented website designer Lorie Smith in the 2023 case 303 Creative, Inc. v. Elenis and baker Jack Phillips in the 2018 case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado, which affirmed the right to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people on the basis of religion.

Diamond and Rosky said they were never contacted by the ADF about their findings. They have since filed a brief with the court “to correct the mischaracterizations of their research.”

“That’s what’s diabolical about [ADF] using me. They know they are misrepresenting my views. It also feels very hard to counter because it’s not coming from facts or reason. It’s coming from animus,” Diamond said, adding, “This case could do some real harm to the very individuals we’ve spent our lives trying to protect.”