Christians can apply

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: It’s Thursday the 31st of July.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Paul Butler.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

First up on The World and Everything in It, a win for religious liberty in Oregon.

Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a single mother pursuing adoption. Back in 2022, Jessica Bates applied to adopt after listening to a Christian radio program about a single father who adopted a son out of foster care.

BATES: I did not have a mindset at all of, like, adopting kids. My husband had been gone for about three or so years at that point, and I have five children. But then it was like this, it was a voice that was, those are my children.

BUTLER: Bates spoke with WORLD after the ruling. She says her certification process went well until the state’s resource and families training got to gender ideology.

BATES: They want you to use pronouns, and, you know, be really supportive, take kids to gay pride events, post things in your yard, and stuff like all of this. And I didn't really say anything during the class. I just kind of okay, you know. But after it, I went ahead and emailed that I had some concerns. That with my faith, I might not be able to do these things that they're wanting me to do.

When state officials got back to her, they asked Bates an unusual question.

BATES: If we put a child in your care who wants to transition, are you willing to take them to hormone injections? And I told him no, and that I felt like, you know that is child abuse, and I wouldn't do that for my biological children either. And at which point they basically were like, Okay, well, we're going to put your application on pause, and basically you'll receive a denial letter and everything else.

MAST: When it was clear this was no simple misunderstanding, but Oregon’s official policy, Bates sued. While courts heard her case, Bates asked for an injunction that would allow her to continue the adoption process in the meantime. The district court said no.

WILDMALM-DELPHONSE: It's just an ideological litmus test. It's saying that you have to agree with us on this controversial issue that you know, people have very different opinions about.

Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse is an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom representing Bates.

WILDMALM-DELPHONSE: Oregon is like many other states that are facing a crisis in foster care. And Jessica's more than capable, right? She's a parent to five kids. She's more than capable of caring for at least some of these kids, and some of these kids would undeniably thrive in a religious home.

BUTLER: Bates appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Two years later, the court handed down its initial judgement.

BATES: My understanding is that it means I would be able to resume the process of where I left off three years ago, of getting back into being certified to foster, and then obviously I initially would like to adopt.

Attorney Widmalm-Delphonse says the ruling also sets a precedent for prioritizing common sense over ideology in the foster care system.

WILDMALM-DELPHONSE: If you're going to exclude people based on these speculative reasons, you need to come with a lot more evidence. And of course, they didn't have any evidence actually shows that. You know, children just need a loving home. That's what they primarily need.

MAST: The lower court still has to rule on the merits of Bates’s case, but Widmalm-Delphonse is hopeful this initial ruling sets the trajectory for Oregon and other states to remove roadblocks for religious parents to adopt. As for Bates, her household has been through a lot in three years. Her oldest son is getting married this summer.

BATES: But I think I would like to resume the process, yeah, and look into helping some kids out.

BUTLER: To read more about this story, look for Liz Lykins’ article on WORLD Digital.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.