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Illinois Can Force Gay Adoptions, Court Rules

  • Religion Today Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Updated Sep 20, 2012

In what could be another example of a same-sex law trumping religious freedom, Baptist Press reports that an Illinois judge has ruled the state can end its adoption and foster care relationship with Catholic Charities, which refuses to place children with gay couples. At issue is a 40-year relationship between Illinois and Catholic Charities that is in jeopardy because the state -- in light of Illinois' new same-sex civil unions law -- says agencies with state contracts must be willing to place children in gay households. Catholic Charities said it would not follow any such state orders and it subsequently sued the state, saying the civil unions law provided a religious exemption that would protect its work. Judge John Schmidt, though, said it did not matter what the civil unions law said because a more basic issue was at play: Is the state required to contract with Catholic Charities? The answer, he said, is no.