religious exemption Archives

Michigan Reaffirms Support for LGBTQ Families Even as Legal Settlement Allows Discrimination in Foster Care and Adoption

January 26, 2022

The state of Michigan must continue contracting with child service agencies that discriminate against same-sex couples, according to the settlement this week of a long-running case whose outcome rested on a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The state’s Children’s Services Agency nevertheless reaffirmed its commitment to supporting LGBTQ people who want to foster or adopt or are already doing so.

Supreme Court Rules Narrowly in Favor of Religious Foster Care Agency but Says Nondiscrimination Laws Still Generally Apply

June 17, 2021

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia in favor of a faith-based foster care agency that refused to contract with same-sex parents. While this is not the win we might have wanted, it is a narrow loss that one LGBTQ legal expert is still calling “a huge victory.”

Federal Bill to End Adoption and Foster Care Discrimination Introduced for 7th Time

May 26, 2021

A federal bill has just been reintroduced that would prohibit discrimination in foster care and adoption on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion. The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF) is named for the civil rights leader and congressman who was an original co-sponsor the previous six times the bill was introduced. Might it pass this seventh time through Congress?

“Serving children should not be controversial” — Evangelical Adoption Agency Opens to LGBTQ Parents Nationwide

March 2, 2021

Bethany Christian Services, the largest Protestant adoption and foster care agency in the U.S., announced yesterday that it will begin placing children with LGBTQ parents nationwide, reports the New York Times.

Fulton Infographic - Movement Advancement Project

Should Child Welfare Agencies Be Able to Cite Religion to Discriminate? Experts Urge Supreme Court to Say No

August 21, 2020

More than 1,000 experts and organizations filed nearly 50 briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday arguing that taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies should not be able to discriminate against LGBTQ people and others by citing religious beliefs. The implications of this case could go far beyond child welfare, however.

Michigan Reaffirms Support for LGBTQ Families Even as Legal Settlement Allows Discrimination in Foster Care and Adoption

Supreme Court Rules Narrowly in Favor of Religious Foster Care Agency but Says Nondiscrimination Laws Still Generally Apply

Federal Bill to End Adoption and Foster Care Discrimination Introduced for 7th Time

“Serving children should not be controversial” — Evangelical Adoption Agency Opens to LGBTQ Parents Nationwide

Should Child Welfare Agencies Be Able to Cite Religion to Discriminate? Experts Urge Supreme Court to Say No

LGBTQ Parenting Roundup

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case on Allowing Foster Care Agencies to Discriminate Against Same-Sex Parents

Tennessee Set to Become 11th State to Allow Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination in Adoption and Foster Care

LGBTQ Parenting Year in Review: 2019

Federal Judge Says Trump’s “Denial of Care” Rule Is Unconstitutional

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