Supreme Court rules whether religious adoption agencies can be forced
to give children to gays
The city of Philadelphia is threatening to shut down Catholic social services unless it violates its sincere beliefs.
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 24, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) - The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether denominational adoption
and foster care agencies can be forced to place children with same-sex couples.
The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that will clarify the role of faith-based agencies in the foster care and adoption system.
In Fulton v. Philadelphia, the foster mothers of Philadelphia, Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch, defend the denominational agency that reunited their families. Starting in 2018, the city of Philadelphia began targeting and threatening to shut down
Catholic social services unless it violated its sincere beliefs.
and foster care agencies can be forced to place children with same-sex couples.
The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that will clarify the role of faith-based agencies in the foster care and adoption system.
In Fulton v. Philadelphia, the foster mothers of Philadelphia, Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch, defend the denominational agency that reunited their families. Starting in 2018, the city of Philadelphia began targeting and threatening to shut down
Catholic social services unless it violated its sincere beliefs.
Sharonell Fulton has welcomed more than 40 children over the age of 25 in partnership with Catholic Social Services (CSS) in Philadelphia, and Toni Simms-Busch is a former social worker who recently adopted the children she welcomed via CSS. Both mothers chose CSS because the agency shares their most deeply held values and beliefs, and both relied heavily on CSS's support during their foster care journey. familial . A federal appeals court has ruled against foster mothers and the CSS, which are now urging the Supreme Court to protect the department that serves Philadelphia's most vulnerable and at-risk children.
"The CSS has been a pleasure for my family and for many like ours." I don't think I could have gone through this process without an agency that shares my core beliefs and looks after my children accordingly," said Toni Simms-Busch.Busch .
"We are so grateful that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear our case and resolvethe
mess that Philadelphia has created for so many vulnerable foster children."
In March 2018 - and just days after launching an appeal for 300 additional foster families - the city of Philadelphia stopped
allowing children placed in families working with CSS. Philadelphia argued that the Catholic agency should either approve and certify same-sex relationships or close. The City did so despite the fact that - for more than 100 years, CSS had served the City - not a single same-sex couple had applied for family placement certification from CSS. Indeed, no couple has ever been prevented from feeding or adopting a child in need because of the religious beliefs of the CSS.
Faith-based agencies place more than 57,000 children in loving homes across the country each year. Across the country,
five major cities and one state have already excluded denominational agencies from the reception system. Meanwhile, some say the U.S. is in the midst of a foster care crisis: there is a shortage of families and a surplus of children at risk in part because of the opioid epidemic. Religious agencies such as CSS are particularly successful in placing high-risk children (disabled people,
large groups of siblings and older children) in loving families.
"I am relieved to hear that the Supreme Court will weigh in on denominational adoption and foster care," said Lori Windham,
senior counsel at Becket Law. "In recent years, agencies have closed their doors across the country, and all this time, children are flocking into the system. We are confident that the Court will realize that the best solution is the one that worked in Philadelphia for a century
- all on deck for foster children. »
"The CSS has been a pleasure for my family and for many like ours." I don't think I could have gone through this process without an agency that shares my core beliefs and looks after my children accordingly," said Toni Simms-Busch.Busch .
"We are so grateful that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear our case and resolvethe
mess that Philadelphia has created for so many vulnerable foster children."
In March 2018 - and just days after launching an appeal for 300 additional foster families - the city of Philadelphia stopped
allowing children placed in families working with CSS. Philadelphia argued that the Catholic agency should either approve and certify same-sex relationships or close. The City did so despite the fact that - for more than 100 years, CSS had served the City - not a single same-sex couple had applied for family placement certification from CSS. Indeed, no couple has ever been prevented from feeding or adopting a child in need because of the religious beliefs of the CSS.
Faith-based agencies place more than 57,000 children in loving homes across the country each year. Across the country,
five major cities and one state have already excluded denominational agencies from the reception system. Meanwhile, some say the U.S. is in the midst of a foster care crisis: there is a shortage of families and a surplus of children at risk in part because of the opioid epidemic. Religious agencies such as CSS are particularly successful in placing high-risk children (disabled people,
large groups of siblings and older children) in loving families.
"I am relieved to hear that the Supreme Court will weigh in on denominational adoption and foster care," said Lori Windham,
senior counsel at Becket Law. "In recent years, agencies have closed their doors across the country, and all this time, children are flocking into the system. We are confident that the Court will realize that the best solution is the one that worked in Philadelphia for a century
- all on deck for foster children. »
