Government must not fund a private entity’s religiously motivated discrimination. Nor may government grant special religious exceptions from a law when it would cause harm to others, such as same-sex couples who want to become foster parents and the children in need of homes.

Miracle Hill Ministries – a taxpayer-funded foster-care agency in South Carolina – claims its policy of turning away prospective parents and volunteers who aren't evangelical Christians is good for kids. In reality, the agency is dramatically reducing the pool of people who can help a child who needs a home.

Legislators in Arkansas and Tennessee want to allow taxpayer-funded foster-care agencies to refuse to work with people they deem to be the "wrong" religion – the same discrimination faced by our client Aimee Maddonna, a South Carolina woman who was turned away from helping children in foster care only because she's Catholic.