LANSING, Mich.: Faith-based adoption agencies that contract with the state of Michigan can refuse to place children in LGBT homes under a settlement filed in federal court Tuesday, months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for a Catholic charity in a similar case.
The state Department of Health and Human Services said the high court’s ruling against Philadelphia is binding on the state and limits its ability to enforce a non-discrimination policy.
While this outcome is not what we hoped for, we are committed to providing support to the many members in the LGBTQ+ community who want to open their hearts and their homes, Demetrius Starling, executive director of the Children’s Services Agency, said in a statement.
In 2019, Lansing-based St. Vincent Catholic Charities sued the state, challenging a deal Attorney General Dana Nessel brokered to resolve an earlier lawsuit brought by two lesbian couples in 2017. The agreement said a 2015 Republican-backed law letting child-placement agencies deny services that conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs does not apply if they are under contract with the state.
Michigan, like most states, contracts with private agencies to place children from troubled homes with new families.
A judge blocked the attorney general from prohibiting faith-based agencies from excluding LGBT couples from services saying her action conflicted with state law, contracts and established practice. Settlement talks began after the Supreme Court in June said Philadelphia wrongly limited its relationship with a Catholic foster care agency that says its religious views prevent it from working with same-sex couples.
We believe this agreement advances the common good, benefits Michigans vulnerable children, and upholds the constitutional right to religious liberty that is a cornerstone of our state and nation,” said David Maluchnik, spokesperson for the Michigan Catholic Conference.
___
Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Read all the Latest News here
Comments
0 comment