Religious Refusals
!!! ACTION ALERT !!!
November 5th 2019 - The administration marked National Adoption Month by proposing a new rule that would allow taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ+ youth and families.
But there's more. This rule would apply to many other HHS grant-funded programs too, including HIV and STI prevention, youth homelessness, health professional training and education, and care services for older adults.
We’re joining LGBTQ+ advocates across the country in speaking out against the latest attack on our community. You can join us too, by submitting a comment in opposition of the newly proposed rule.
It's becoming more common to hear about cases of people, businesses, and organizations refusing to provide services to a certain population group based on religious objections. This type of discrimination has shown up in various settings. Some recent examples are:
- Graduate students training to be social workers refused to provide therapy services to gay people.
- Pharmacies refusing to fill women's birth control prescriptions.
- Bridal salons, photo studios, and reception halls closing their doors to same-sex couples planning their weddings.
Freedom of religion is important, and it means that we all have a right to our religious beliefs. But that does not give us the right to use our religion to discriminate against and impose those beliefs on others who do not share them.