Oregon officials will allow a Christian mother to adopt children from foster care after initially denying her application because she refused, for religious reasons, to embrace LGBT ideology. Jessica Bates and officials with the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) and Malheur County reached a settlement last week in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
According to the settlement, “ODHS is prohibited from enforcing OAR § 413-200-0308(2)(k) against Bates or otherwise denying her application because of her religious beliefs that sexual activity should occur only within the confines of a marriage between one man and one woman, and a person should identify and seek to live consistent with his or her biological sex.” “ODHS is prohibited from requiring Bates to agree to use prescribed words or language, including chosen pronouns, to express views about sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression inconsistent with her religious beliefs described above as a condition of certification,” continued the settlement.
“Defendants agree that Plaintiff is the prevailing party and entitled to costs and attorneys’ fees.
Plaintiff shall file a stipulation or motion for attorneys’ fees and costs within 60 days of this Order.” The agreement allows ODHS to decide “a child’s placement based on its individualized consideration of the child’s needs and of a foster parent’s concerns or limitations (including where religiously motivated) on their ability or willingness to meet the child’s specific needs, including with regard to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.” Bates was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal group that has won multiple First Amendment cases at the U.S.
Supreme Court level. ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said in a statement on Monday that he considered the settlement “a win-win that protects constitutional rights and puts children’s interests first.”