Trump Sued Over Plan to Let Adoption Agencies Reject Gay Couples

(Bloomberg) -- The American Civil Liberties Union said it’s suing the Trump administration over a reported plan to make it easier for taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to reject same-sex couples on religious grounds -- a proposal that’s already been implemented in South Carolina.

The ACLU said it’s representing a family that was rejected from consideration by Miracle Hill Ministries, an evangelical Christian adoption agency in South Carolina that’s among the biggest in the state. The Trump administration in January gave the state a waiver from an Obama-era regulation that bars discrimination against same-sex couples by agencies that receive federal funding, the ACLU says.

The complaint, filed Thursday in Greenville federal court against the Department of Health and Human Services and the state of South Carolina, says the proposed rule could also result in discrimination against families that aren’t Protestant. Axios reported the government’s plan on May 24, citing senior administration officials.

"Families who are rejected by an agency because of their faith or sexual orientation may not have other options in their area," ACLU Deputy Director Leslie Cooper said in a statement. "Even if they do, the sting and humiliation of discrimination may deter some from approaching other agencies to possibly face more discrimination."

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider

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