An Oregon mother is suing the state after it rejected her adoption application because she would not vow to transition the hypothetical child experiencing gender dysphoria.
Jessica Bates, a widowed mother of five children, felt called to adopt after hearing the story of a single father who had adopted a child. Hearing his story on a Christian radio station, Bates said she felt a “really strong nudge in my spirit.” She heard God tell her, “These are my children.”
“It was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t see that coming,'” she said, “but I feel like I need to do something.”
According to the lawsuit, state officials at the Department of Human Services denied her application because she said her Christian faith informs her that gender and sex aren’t a choice, and that she would be unwilling to use pronouns that don’t align with a child’s biological sex or allow a doctor to give the child hormone injections.
Her attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom argue that Bates’ First Amendment rights have been violated.
“Pronouns and words that you use, those carry a message,” said ADF attorney Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse. “In this case, they’re forcing her to affirm the message that you can choose your gender, and that gender can be different from your biological sex, which violates her religious beliefs, but it also compels her to speak a message that she disagrees with.”
Bates had been hoping to adopt a pair of siblings under the age of nine and the “state never balked about anything to do with my situation” as a widowed mother of five. She had provided all of the necessary information proving her financial stability, work history, and background check and had taken the necessary adoption training.
But when Barnes learned during her training that she was expected to display “symbols indicating an LGBTQ-affirming environment” and “pictures and posters of diverse people who are known to be LGBTQI2-S … and families with same-sex parents” as well as participate in “LGBTQ community activities,” she raised her concerns. She emailed a state adoption official about the requirements.
“I don’t know how many children there are out there under the age of 9 who fall into this category (and to me it’s kind of crazy that society is wanting to get kids thinking about this stuff at such young ages; I think we should let them keep their innocence), so this may not even be an issue,” she said in the email. “I have no problem loving them and accepting them as they are, but I would not encourage them in this behavior. I believe God gives us our gender/sex and it’s not something we get to choose.”
The adoption official asked Bates if she would take a child to receive hormone injections for gender transition, and she said she would not because she considers it to be child abuse. She was told soon after that she would not be allowed to adopt through the state of Oregon.
“A family that hunts need not give up meat eating because some children are vegans. And Jews need not accommodate foreign gods because some children desire a home with a Hindu shrine,” reads the lawsuit.
“It’s only when people have views on sexual orientation and gender identity that disagree with the state’s views that Oregon has a problem and excludes people,” Widmalm-Delphonse said.
Bates said she hopes to continue her adoption process and that Oregon will change the policy.
“Oregon’s policy makes a sweeping claim that all persons who hold certain religious beliefs — beliefs held by millions of Americans from diverse religious faiths — are categorically unfit to care for children,” said Widmalm-Delphonse. “That’s simply not true. Oregon is putting its political agenda above the needs of countless children who would be happy to grow up in a loving, Christian home like Jessica’s.”
