A unanimous 9-0 Supreme Court ruling has confirmed Philadelphia’s Catholic Social Services’ right to refuse to foster children to same-sex couples.
Plaintiff Sharonell Fulton says she is overjoyed with the decision.
“My faith is what drives me to care for foster children here in Philadelphia and I thank God the Supreme Court believes that’s a good thing”, she said.
Catholic Social Services is a Philadelphia city-funded foster and adoption agency.
Given the funding the city provides, Philadelphia City argued that the agency had no right to refuse to certify same-sex couples as foster parents because of its Catholic beliefs on marriage.
The Catholic policy constituted discrimination and violated the City’s nondiscrimination ordinance, the City said in 2018, when the issue arose.
It went on to say it would no longer work with the Catholic Social Services. As the City oversees all foster care placements, the agency’s work drastically diminished as the case proceeded in the courts.
Catholic Social Services and two foster parents — one named Sharonell Fulton (pictured) — sued the city, claiming the free exercise clause in the First Amendment gives the agency the right to opt out of the nondiscrimination requirement.
The Fulton v. Philadelphia lawsuit argued that the City’s policy violated their free exercise of religion when it stopped contracting with them in 2018.
The Court’s unanimous ruling in favour of Catholic Social Services’ free exercise clause overturned a lower court and a federal circuit court ruling in the City’s favour.
The new decision is being seen as a victory for religious freedom in the United States.
The court did not, however, establish a general right for religious organizations to violate nondiscrimination laws.
It ruled more narrowly.
It said since a section in the city’s nondiscrimination policy allowed exceptions to the nondiscrimination policy at the city commissioner’s discretion (though none has ever been granted), it must also do so for Catholic Social Services’ sincerely held religious beliefs.
Philadelphia’s Archbishop Nelson Pérez says the ruling is a victory for at-risk children.
The Catholic Church in Philadelphia has steadfastly served the city for 200 years. It is looking forward to partnering with the City and continuing to provide “the temporal and spiritual needs of all — now and for the long term,” Pérez says.
In his view, the Court’s ruling protects “our enshrined right to religious freedom and celebrates the rich diversity of religious beliefs in the United States.
“Religious ministries cannot be forced to abandon their beliefs as the price for ministering to those in need. We can all live and work peacefully, side-by-side, to create a better and brighter future for all of our children.”
Gay rights groups are interpreting the ruling as another defeat for LGBTQ equality. A study by the Williams Institute at UCLA shows same-sex couples raising children were approximately seven times more likely than heterosexual couples raising children to have an adopted or foster child.
“This ruling will certainly impact foster care and adoption services immediately and perpetuate some pretty horrific myths in the culture — doubting our ability to provide effective parenting,” says a lesbian foster parent.
But a leading scholar of religious liberty says as the ruling pointed out, there are more than 20 foster care agencies in Philadelphia, many catering for LGBTQ couples.
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