Abstract
In National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra, the Supreme Court held that there was no First Amendment exception for professional speech, but noted there remained an exception for speech incidental to professional conduct. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit are split on the nature of this exemption, namely whether it includes legislation banning conversion therapy for minors when said therapy consists of only speech. This split highlights a deeper divide whether speech, in and of itself, can be considered conduct and thereby exempted from First Amendment protection. This Note will argue that speech, even in the professional context, should still be analyzed as speech for the purposes of the First Amendment. I
Recommended Citation
Broome, Joshua N.
(2025)
"Is Speech Speech?: Speech as Conduct After National Institute of Family & Life Advocates,"
Helms School of Government Undergraduate Law Review: Vol. 4, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/helmsundergraduatelawreview/vol4/iss1/3