The Trump Administration last week filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court stating that taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies should be allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ people and others if serving them conflicts with the agency’s religious beliefs. The administration’s position should come as a surprise to exactly no one.
The administration filed its brief (PDF) Wednesday in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a case that began in 2018, when the City of Philadelphia stopped referring foster children to Catholic Social Services (CSS) because the agency would not license qualified same-sex couples to be foster or adoptive parents, a violation of the city’s anti-discrimination laws. CSS then brought a lawsuit in federal district court, claiming those laws impinged on their freedom of religion. Both the district court and an appeals court ruled in the city’s favor, saying that it can require foster care agencies that have city contracts to adhere to the city’s nondiscrimination laws. CSS appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which said in February that it would hear the case this fall. I refer you to my post on that for further background.
The administration’s support of discrimination in the guise of religious freedom, especially in child services, is a long-running theme. Let’s remember, too, that its position extends to allowing discrimination against anyone whose LGBTQ identity or other factors, such as religion, don’t accord with a foster care or adoption agency’s stated religious beliefs. In fact, it granted agencies in South Carolina a waiver from federal nondiscrimination policy so that Miracle Hill, a publicly funded Protestant agency in the state, could turn away a Jewish woman from serving as a mentor to foster youth. That’s a dangerous precedent. (The same agency is now being sued in federal court by a married lesbian couple who are members of a Unitarian Universalist church and were turned away by Miracle Hill because of their religious beliefs and their sexual orientation.)
How will the Supreme Court, now with a conservative majority, rule on the Philadelphia case? I have no idea, but I’m not terribly optimistic.
Even if the court agreed with the administration, though, it would not mean that it would be illegal for LGBTQ people and others to foster or adopt children, just that agencies could discriminate against them. Some, I’m sure, would choose not to.
Nevertheless, should the court find in favor of allowing discrimination, the real victims will be the children in need of homes. As Emily Hecht-McGowan, then-chief policy officer at Family Equality, explained to me a few years back, when providers choose to close rather than adhere to nondiscrimination laws, their cases are transferred to other agencies. But allowing providers to turn away otherwise-qualified prospective parents means there is less assurance another parent will be available, especially within a reasonable time frame. The effect of this would be to leave children without homes. That’s unconscionable.
As always, if you want to take action against discrimination in child services, follow the Every Child Deserves a Family campaign.