Trump promises to help religious adoption agencies that won't work with gay parents
WASHINGTON - The National Prayer Breakfast is one of President Donald Trump's annual opportunities to pledge his loyalty to his conservative Christian base, and at Thursday's breakfast, Trump's first words renewed that promise: "I will never let you down," he said as soon as he reached the podium. "I can say that. Never."
He moved through a list of policy areas, assuring the religious leaders in attendance that he stands with them on everything from criminal justice reform to human trafficking. And he introduced a family he called "inspiring to us all": the Bucks from Michigan, who have adopted five children.
Trump pivoted from warmly praising the Bucks' "beautiful" children, including 10-year-old Max and 9-year-old Liz who attended the breakfast, to a darker note: "Unfortunately, the Michigan adoption agency that brought the Buck family together is now defending itself in court for living by the values of its Catholic faith."
"My administration," he promised, "is working to ensure that faith-based adoption agencies are able to help vulnerable children find their forever families while following their deeply held beliefs."
How is Trump doing that? Why are these adoption agencies being challenged? Trump didn't explain before moving on to discuss international religious persecution, the U.S. border and the survival of a premature baby named Grayson. But it is a long-running question for policymakers: whether adoption and foster-care agencies run by religious groups, but funded by the federal government, should be allowed to pick the homes in which they place children based on the religion and sexuality of the parents.
The debate over this issue centers on a regulation put in place by the Obama administration just days before President Barack Obama left office. Some adoption and foster-care agencies, citing their religious beliefs, refuse to place children in the homes of same-sex couples. Others will place children only with Christian parents. But programs that receive federal funding through the Department of Health and Human Services, according to the Obama administration rule, are barred from discriminating on the basis of religion, gender identity or sexual orientation. The rule specifically says that under the Supreme Court's decision that legally recognized same-sex marriage nationwide, "all recipients must treat as valid the marriages of same-sex couples."
A South Carolina adoption agency that works only with Christian parents - turning away a Jewish mother who wanted to become a foster parent - petitioned for an exemption from the HHS rule, with the support of South Carolina's Republican governor. The department said yes to the request for an exemption in late January.
That HHS decision prompted outcries from advocates of same-sex parents and religious pluralism, who feared the spread of exemptions for Christian organizations to flout federal rules.
On the other hand, some Christian advocates said HHS should go even further and revoke the Obama rule entirely, so that no foster-care agencies are obligated to follow the nondiscrimination rule.
Trump has made policy promises at the National Prayer Breakfast, but on Thursday, he did not specify what he meant by saying his administration would protect such agencies. It might mean more exemptions, or an outright revocation of the rule, or something else.
Meanwhile, some state laws specifically grant religious adoption and foster-care agencies the right to refuse same-sex parents. That's the case in Michigan, where the Bucks adopted their five children. That policy faces a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union.