Alabama Lawmakers Approve Law to Protect Christian Adoption Agencies
- Updated May 24, 2017
Alabama’s governor has signed into law a bill protecting the freedom of Christian adoption agencies.
The Christian Institute reports that House Bill 24 mandates that adoption agencies that do not receive federal funding (many of which are Christian adoption agencies) will not lose their license because they operate on faith-based principles.
The bill was passed in the state’s House of Representatives 87-0, with six abstentions. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed it into law.
After signing the bill, Ivey explained why she was in support of it: “I ultimately signed House Bill 24 because it ensures hundreds of children can continue to find ‘forever homes’ through religiously-affiliated adoption agencies.”
The law, she added, “protects the ability of religious agencies to place vulnerable children in a permanent home.”
Gay rights groups argued against the bill, saying that it discriminated against gay couples who want to adopt, since Christian adoption agencies often do not work with gay couples.
However, as Alabama Representative Rich Wingo, who backed HB 24, explained, gay couples have many adoption agencies to choose from since most adoptions in the state are handled by secular institutions, and there is no need for them to seek out a Christian agency.
“Same-sex couples would make it all about them. It’s not,” stated Wingo.
Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/Professor25
Publication date: May 25, 2017
