Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit last week against the Oregon Department of Human Services on behalf of a woman whose application to adopt siblings from foster care was denied because her Christian faith beliefs do not allow her to agree to support the “sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression” of children placed in her home.
Jessica Bates, a widowed single mother of five who sought to adopt siblings from foster care, informed ODHS during her application process that she would accept any child but could not comply with the state’s sexual orientation and gender identity policies that violated her Christian faith beliefs, such as requiring adoptive parents to use a child’s preferred pronouns or consent to life-altering transgender drugs or surgeries.