In the state of Texas, it’s now legal for child welfare officials to use their personal religious beliefs to decide who will be allowed to adopt.
As The Texas Tribune reports, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3859 late last week. The law requires organizations to send potential adopters to another organization if they deem them unfit on religious grounds. The bill drew fierce opposition in the Legislature last term.
Critics lambasted the measure as a thinly-veiled effort to allow discrimination against LGBT parents wishing to adopt.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD, said “Discrimination has won in Texas, and it saddens me that a child can now be denied the chance to live with a deserving family simply because they are LGBTQ.”
Some other states have already adopted laws like this, including Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Virginia.