AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Many state-funded Texas adoption agencies routinely deny non-Christian, gay, and unmarried applicants on religious grounds – and now they are backing legislation being considered Tuesday by the state House designed to protect them from potential lawsuits.
The private organizations, which are paid by the state to place foster children with adoptive families, want to continue the practice and are seeking legal protections through Texas’ “Freedom to Serve Children Act,” which is up for consideration Tuesday in the GOP-controlled House. If it clears the House, the bill heads to the even more conservative Senate and then for an approval signature by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not commented on the bill.
The bill would be the nation’s second allowing state-funded adoption agencies to reject families on religious grounds. South Dakota passed similar legislation in March but it’s too soon to measure its practical effects. While the Texas proposal may not pass constitutional muster, that hasn’t stopped the state’s lawmakers before, who have in previous years approved a voter ID law and abortion restrictions that were overturned in court.
Randy Daniels, vice-president of Child and Family Services for the Dallas-based Christian child welfare organization Buckner International, said religious agencies are terrified of lawsuits for turning away parents.
“We want to make sure we can practice within the framework of our sincerely held religious beliefs,” said Daniels.
Buckner only accepts Christian heterosexual couples who have been married for at least four years, in addition to some single individuals – which is more liberal than many other faith-based groups, which refuse single parents, said Daniels.
“These are our requirements, and we’re clear, this is just who we are,” said Daniels. “We want to make sure that groups like Buckner continue to have a place at the table because we bring solutions.”
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