Family Equality submitted an amicus curiae brief in a case that endangers hundreds of thousands of children in the child welfare system, and could create a nationwide license to discriminate on the basis of religious beliefs.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today Family Equality submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a critically-important case that will be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2020-2021 term. The brief was filed through pro bono counsel Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP, in partnership with PFLAG National.
If the Court rules that Catholic Social Services (CSS) can refuse to comply with the City of Philadelphia’s nondiscrimination requirement and reject qualified parents simply because of who they are or what religion they adhere to, hundreds of thousands of children in the child welfare system will pay the price.
“Family Equality’s amicus brief illustrates to the Supreme Court justices how children in foster care are harmed when agencies are allowed to discriminate against same-sex couples who wish to foster and adopt,” said Denise Brogan-Kator, chief policy officer of Family Equality. “Our brief presents the voices of LGBTQ+ adults who attest to the reality that agencies’ discrimination against same-sex couples delays the availability of homes to children who need them, leaves children in the system even though there is a family available to care for them, keeps siblings apart even when there is a family willing to keep them together, and deters qualified parents from fostering.”
Click here to read the brief (PDF).
About Family Equality
Family Equality advances legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families, and for those who wish to form them, through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy change. Family Equality believes every LGBTQ+ person should have the right and opportunity to form and sustain a loving family, regardless of who they are or where they live. Learn more at familyequality.org.
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