Lesbian couple sues after foster agency turns them away

Eden Rogers and Brandy Welch to challenge South Carolina ruling that organisations can refuse services on religious grounds

A lesbian couple are suing a foster care agency after they were rejected as prospective parents because of their sexual orientation.

Eden Rogers and Brandy Welch, from South Carolina in the US, were turned down on the grounds that same-sex marriages conflict with the Christian values of Miracle Hill Ministries.

It became legal in the state in January for organisations to refuse to perform services which they say compromise their religious beliefs – a move which critics argue amounts to state-sponsored discrimination against non-Christians and the LGBT+ community.

Now Ms Rogers and Ms Welch – who have two other children, aged 10 and seven – are seeking to rescind the state waiver which legalised such action.

They say that South Carolina’s authorities are violating their constitutional rights by allowing agencies to use religious criteria to screen out potential foster parents. No other US state permits such screening.

The couple, of Greenville, are also seeking a permanent injunction that would prevent the state from licensing agencies that discriminate against prospective foster parents based on religion, sex, sexual orientation or marital status.

Ms Welch said: “Faith is a part of our family life, so it is hurtful and insulting to us that Miracle Hill’s religious view of what a family must look like deprives foster children of a nurturing, supportive home.”

The lawsuit – which is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union – names as defendants the US Department of Health and Human Services which issued the waiver, state governor Henry McMaster who requested it, and South Carolina’s Department of Social Services.

Defending the waiver, Lynn Johnson, assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, said: “This preserves all of the foster care agencies currently available for children in South Carolina by ensuring faith-based organisations can continue to serve this vulnerable population.

“It protects minors who are in need of as many options as possible for being placed in loving foster families.

“The government should not be in the business of forcing foster care providers to close their doors because of their faith. Religious freedom is a fundamental human right.”

Neither the South Carolina Department of Social Services or Henry McMaster’s office have commented on the case.

Miracle Hill Ministries – which receives some $600,000 [£475,000] of taxpayer funding last year – is itself not named in the injunction.

But president Reid Lehman said: “Our unique ability to partner with Christian parents who share our religious convictions has helped to greatly increase the pool of available foster homes.

“We are saddened that Ms Rogers and Ms Welch are unwilling to foster children if they cannot do so with Miracle Hill. We would be honoured to work with them if they shared our religious convictions in belief and practice, and we’ve encouraged them to volunteer in other ways with our ministry if they would like to do so.”