Friday, July 13, 2018

Religious Freedom, Adoption, and the "License to Discriminate"

Today, I want to talk about something that you might not even know is a major issue right now, but it could potentially be yet another great travesty in this country. Another way we mistreat and abuse one of our most vulnerable populations.

Our kids.

What I want to talk about is religious freedom, discrimination, and adoption.

Why am I focusing on this? Well, on Wednesday, July 11th, the House Appropriations Committee passed an amendment to the "Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Services Bill" for the 2019 Fiscal Year which would essentially allow "taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to deny LGBTQ families the ability to adopt a child based on religious objection".


This type of discrimination against same-sex couples seeking to adopt isn't new. Ten states already have laws that allow child welfare agencies to discriminate against couples: Alabama, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia. According to the Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign, more than 21,000 kids were awaiting adoption in these states in 2015.

This amendment would make this discrimination national.

Now, the amendment doesn't specifically say that child welfare agencies can discriminate against LGBTQ couples (even though we all know that's what they mean), but that the Federal Government cannot punish or take "an adverse action" against an agency that refuses services based on their "sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions". Some people might see this and think "that's what freedom is" or "they have a right to their beliefs". Some people might even agree that LGBTQ couples shouldn't be able to adopt (they'd be wrong, but they might still think it). But many advocacy organizations and individuals have already pointed out that this wording expands beyond LGBTQ discrimination. This could impact interfaith couples, single parents, couples in which one partner has been previously divorced, and any other type of couple the agency could find objectionable (if you don't think someone will try to use "religious belief" as a reason to deny a biracial couple an adoption, you haven't been paying attention).

This amendment is essentially a tax-payer funded "license to discriminate". It's an attempt to push the morals and values of a few onto the entire populace. And who suffers the most from these actions?

The kids.

The kids in the child welfare system praying to find a forever home. The kids bouncing from foster home to foster home, never experiencing true stability. Never having a real family. They are being denied stable homes and qualified, loving parents because those in power refuse to let go of their bigotry and hate.

This amendment is not a good thing. It doesn't support families. It doesn't protect our children. It's not about religious freedom.

It's about power. It's about control.

It's about maintaining a society that upholds the few over the many, and refusing to acknowledge or attempt to understand anything that doesn't fit into their "ideal" mold.

This is the kind of harm our current government is creating behind the scenes when we're distracted by the other atrocities around us. This is just another way the concept of religious freedom is abused and used as a weapon rather than a means of stability.

As someone who was adopted, I'm enraged by this amendment. As a human being, I'm deeply saddened for those kids and adults who just want to create families. Sexual orientation, religion, race, nationality, and marital status should never be used to measure the quality of a potential parent.

Will they be loving? Will they provide a safe and stable home? Will they protect their child? Will they work to give them every opportunity they can so that the child can grow and flourish?

Those are the things that should matter. The well-being of the child is what should matter.

However, this amendment shows that that's not what politicians truly care about. If this was really about the kids and what was best for them, this amendment wouldn't exist.

Vote in November. Speak out against this amendment. Show that you care, because it's clear those currently in power don't.

Erin B.