Jessica Bates, a mother from Oregon is suing the state for allegedly discriminating against her due to her religious beliefs. Bates had applied to adopt a child from Oregon’s foster care system, but her application was denied because of her refusal to comply with the state’s requirements regarding gender identity and expression.
The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) demands that individuals seeking to adopt “respect, accept, and support” the gender identity and expression of any child the department could place in an applicant’s home. According to the woman’s account, state officials demanded that she agree to use a child’s preferred pronouns, take a child to Pride parades, and even potentially take an adolescent child to receive dangerous pharmaceutical interventions like hormone shots.
Bates asserts that she alerted ODHS that she would happily love and accept any child, regardless of their gender identity or expression, but could not say or do something that goes against her faith. However, state officials rejected her application, citing her religious beliefs on human sexuality as the reason for exclusion.
The Oregon mother is now suing the state of Oregon, with legal assistance from Alliance Defending Freedom, alleging that the state is putting politics above children. She claims that the state is depriving children of loving families and forever homes by excluding those with religious beliefs different from its own.
The case raises questions about the state’s policies regarding adoption and foster care and the extent to which it accommodates different religious and cultural backgrounds. It also highlights the tensions between religious freedom and the state’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusivity.
