A federal appeals court is siding with a Christian mom who has been barred from a state adoption program due to her biblical worldview on gender and sexuality. Jessica Bates, a Christian and a widowed mother of five, applied to adopt two nine-year-old children in 2023, but the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) excluded Bates from participating in the adoption program, since she would not agree to unilaterally “respect, accept, and support” the “sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression” of children placed in her care, which ODHS said included using children’s “preferred pronouns,” taking them to LGBT Pride events, or taking them to gender transition procedure appointments.
Bates insisted that her Christian beliefs prevented her from lying to children about their gender or sexuality and told ODHS officials that she would “happily love and accept any child” placed under her care, but the agency rejected her application and barred her from adopting any child, regardless of the child’s age or the child’s own religious beliefs. With the assistance of attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Bates filed a lawsuit, alleging the ODHS decision and the rule it was based on violated her First Amendment rights.
A federal district court rejected the Oregon mother’s request for a preliminary injunction, but the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision Thursday, issuing a preliminary injunction and allowing Bates to obtain an adoption license while litigation continues at the district court level. Judges Daniel Bress, appointed by President Donald Trump, and Michael Daly Hawkins, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, sided with Bates, while George W. Bush appointee Judge Richard Clifton dissented.
In the majority’s opinion, Bress noted that ODHS guidance requires adoptive and foster parents to encourage pro-LGBT sentiment — including through talking about pronouns and gender identity and hanging LGBT-themed signs and flags in the house — even if children placed in their care do not identify as LGBT. The judge observed, “Among other things, the [ODHS] materials state that for LGBTQ youth, ‘[p]rejudice and rejection can occur’ in certain settings, listing among them ‘faith-based communities.’” He continued to point out that the ODHS guidance at one point even encourages parents to leave their current churches and look for a pro-LGBT church: “You do not have to choose between your faith and supporting their LGBTQ+ identity. Many religious groups embrace LGBTQ+ youth, adults, and their families. There are more and more affirming churches and religious groups that are providing affirming spaces to LGBTQ+ youth and their families.” (Emphasis in original.)
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