Indiana protects foster care providers from being banned over beliefs on sexuality

Indiana has enacted legislation to protect faith-based foster care providers, as couples in other states have been blocked from serving as foster parents because of their religious beliefs about gender and sexuality. 

Indiana’s Republican Gov. Mike Braun signed House Bill 1389 into law Thursday. Braun’s approval of the legislation follows its passage in bipartisan votes of 44-0 in the Republican-controlled Indiana Senate and 84-12 in the Republican-controlled Indiana House of Representatives. 

The measure prohibits government entities in the state from discriminating against “a person that provides, or declines to provide, an adoption or foster care service in a manner consistent with the person’s sincerely held religious belief.” It contains specific protections for adoptive and foster parents who raise or intend to raise their adoptive and foster children in accordance with their “sincerely held religious belief.”

The legislation allows government entities to consider a prospective foster or adoptive parent’s faith for placement purposes, specifically permitting them to prioritize placing children with families who share their religious faith and/or the faith of their biological parents. The measure contains a right of action against government entities for anyone who feels their rights under the new law were violated. 

Greg Chafuen, senior counsel with the conservative legal nonprofit organization Alliance Defending Freedom, said Indiana is taking "critical steps" to prevent discrimination against religious families. 

“Every child deserves a loving home that can provide them stability and opportunities to grow. The sad reality is that the government in some states has discriminated against people of faith, allowing vulnerable children to suffer,” he said in a statement. 

“Thankfully, Indiana has taken critical steps to prioritize the well-being of kids by prohibiting state and local government officials from discriminating against adoption and foster care providers and parents simply because of their religious beliefs and moral convictions."

The law, Chafuen said, will enable Indian children to benefit from "as many adoption and foster care agencies as possible," whether in faith-based or non-faith-based homes. 

Braun’s approval of House Bill 1389 comes as foster families in other states have had their licenses revoked or denied because they do not adhere to LGBT ideology in violation of their deeply held religious beliefs. 

In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the city government in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, couldn't stop working with a Catholic charity in a foster program because of the organization's policies against placing children with same-sex couples.

In 2023, a Massachusetts couple, Michael and Catherine Burke, filed a lawsuit against state officials after their request to serve as foster parents was denied because they “would not be affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA” due to their religious beliefs about gender and sexuality. Their case is still in litigation after more than two years. 

While Vermont faced several lawsuits from foster parents who had their licenses revoked due to their religious beliefs about sexuality and gender, the litigation in the Green Mountain State came to an end last month after the state agreed to adopt new guidance stressing that “[a]pplicants’ sincerely held personal, cultural, religious, moral, or philosophical beliefs shall not be considered in the licensing process.” 

The new guidance also states that “Applicants shall not be excluded based on any such beliefs nor an intent to live, parent, and make day-to-day caregiving decisions consistent with those beliefs, so long as required standards of safety, care, non-discrimination, and respect for a child’s safety, well-being and dignity are met.” 

Vermont also agreed not to require an “endorsement or affirmation of specific identities,” the “use of particular vocabulary, prescribed language, or preferred pronouns related to gender identity, sexual orientation, or gender expression” or the facilitation of “medical appointments or procedures related to gender-affirming care” as prerequisites for receiving the license necessary to serve as foster parents in the state.