Christian Oregon Mother Challenges Adoption Bar Over Religious Beliefs

Christian Oregon Mother Challenges Adoption Bar Over Religious Beliefs

BREAKING: OREGON—Oregon mother-of-five, Jessica Bates, who seeks to adopt siblings from foster care was barred from adoption over her religious beliefs. 

Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Bates’ attorneys presented oral arguments Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in landmark case Bates v. Pakseresht.

Bates is challenging an Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) rule that bars her from adopting any child because she refuses to compromise her religious beliefs on the issue of gender ideology. 

Bates contends that ODHS unfairly discriminates against her and other families who share her faith-based views, preventing them from providing loving homes to children in need.

“Jessica is a loving mother who wants to open her home to children in need right now, but Oregon officials are excluding her and countless other families because of their religious beliefs about sexual ethics and the human body,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs, who will argue on Bates’s behalf before the court. 

“Because these caregivers cannot promote Oregon’s dangerous gender ideology to young kids, the state considers them to be unfit parents. That’s false and harmful, needlessly depriving these kids of opportunities to find a loving home. We are urging the 9th Circuit to remind Oregon that the foster and adoption system is supposed to serve the best interests of children, not the state’s ideological crusade.”

Bates applied for adoption certification two years ago, but ODHS rejected her application because she refused to convey beliefs conflicting with her faith, such as endorsing gender fluidity to children. Despite her willingness to love and care for any child, ODHS deemed her unfit to adopt, even infants or those who share her religious convictions.

In January, a diverse coalition including foster and adoptive parents, religious liberty advocates, and representatives from 20 states supported Bates in amicus briefs filed with the 9th Circuit. These briefs, along with ADF’s arguments, underscore that ODHS’s policy unfairly targets people of faith, forces parents to violate their conscience, and denies vulnerable children the chance to find caring families.

Rebekah Schultheiss, part of the ADF Attorney Network, serves as local counsel for Bates in this crucial case.

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