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.
Religious freedom gives Americans the right to believe, or not, as they choose, but it does not give anyone the right to use their religious beliefs to discriminate against kids and families. That’s especially true when organizations, like these adoption and foster-care agencies, get public funding to provide a service on behalf of the government.
The city of Philadelphia does not have to contract with religiously affiliated foster-care placement agencies that engage in discriminatory policies against potential foster parents, Americans United for Separation of Church and State argues in a