Oregon Settles With Mother Denied Foster Care Adoption Over Religious Beliefs

Oregon has reached a settlement with a Christian mother who was denied the opportunity to adopt from the state's foster care system. Jessica Bates, a widowed mother of five, stated that state officials indicated her religious beliefs concerning gender identity and the affirmation of a child's transition conflicted with the requirements for foster parents.

Bates began the process of becoming certified to adopt in March 2022. According to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented Bates, she was denied her application in September 2022. Bates told Fox News Digital that during the foster care training, she was informed that prospective parents needed to be willing to affirm a child's gender identity, use preferred pronouns, and support gender transition, even if it conflicted with their faith.

"When I was on the phone call with them a few months later, they basically kind of set up the litmus test that, ‘OK, well, what if we place a child in your care who wants to transition from one sex to the other, and we want — we need you to take this child to hormone injection appointments. Would you be willing to do that?,’" Bates recounted. She stated that she would not be willing to do so, believing gender affirmation for a child is harmful and that the long-term effects of transition hormones are not fully understood.

Bates expressed the difficulty of being told she could not help children in the foster care system due to these beliefs, especially as someone who has experienced loss. She began the adoption process hoping to provide a home for children in need.

In March 2023, ADF filed a federal complaint on Bates' behalf. Following a federal district court ruling against her, ADF appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in December 2023. The appeal sought to allow Bates to access Oregon's adoption system without discrimination while her lawsuit proceeded.

In July, the 9th Circuit ruled that Bates could begin the process of adopting siblings from foster care without violating her religious beliefs about human sexuality, allowing her lawsuit against state officials to continue. The settlement allows Bates to proceed with her goal of fostering and adopting children. She mentioned that even with changes in her family life, including becoming a grandmother and having her eldest son and his family living with her due to cost of living, she intends to continue the adoption process.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Oregon Department of Human Services for comment but did not immediately receive a response.