A Christian mother will be able to begin the adoption process and continue her lawsuit against the state of Oregon after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in her favor on Thursday.
Jessica Bates said that she was inspired to become a foster mother to two children after her husband died in a car crash in 2017. She is a single mom to five biological children.
‘The Ninth Circuit’s decision upholds free speech and the free exercise of religion for Christian families hoping to foster or adopt and to open their loving homes to children in need.’
Bates went to Oregon’s foster care system, but she hit a roadblock when the Oregon’s Department of Human Services notified her that foster homes needed to respect children’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression” as a matter of official policy.
She cited her Christian faith in rejecting that policy.
“I need to let you know I cannot support this behavior in a child,” she wrote in a note to DHS. “I have no problem loving them and accepting them as they are, but I would not encourage them in this behavior. I believe God gives us our gender/sex and it’s not something we get to choose.”
Bates filed a lawsuit against Oregon with the Alliance Defending Freedom, and in November a judge ruled against her, which led to the appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
“This Court questions whether plaintiff’s willingness to ‘love and support’ a child is sufficient to ensure that the child will feel loved and supported,” the ruling reads.
On Thursday, an appeals court said that she could be allowed to begin the process of adoption from foster care as the case continues through the legal system.
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ADF senior counsel Jonathan Scruggs praised the ruling in a statement Thursday.
“Because caregivers like Jessica cannot promote Oregon’s dangerous gender ideology to young kids and take them to events like pride parades, the state considers them to be unfit parents,” Scruggs said. “That is false and incredibly dangerous, needlessly depriving kids of opportunities to find a loving home. The 9th Circuit was right to remind Oregon that the foster and adoption system is supposed to serve the best interests of children, not the state’s ideological crusade.”
The ADF said that the rule from Oregon meant that Bates was not even able to adopt children who share her religious beliefs.
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, the director of the Conscience Project, commented on the development in a statement to the Blaze.
“The sinister assault of progressive gender ideology on Oregon’s most vulnerable children was finally shut down,” she said. “The Ninth Circuit’s decision upholds free speech and the free exercise of religion for Christian families hoping to foster or adopt and to open their loving homes to children in need.”
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Jessica bates, Christian mom banned, Religious liberty lawsuit, Oregon vs christian mom, Politics
