The laws in this country have a way of changing often. One of the laws that has recently changed in Texas has to do with adoptions. Some people worry that it might have a negative impact on some of the 20,000 kids in this state who are in the foster system or waiting for an adoption.
The new law gives providers who work with adoptions the right to decline to work with people based on closely held religious beliefs. At first glance, it might not seem like this will make a big difference, but let’s take a few moments to ponder just how far reaching this could be.
The way that the law is worded, people could refuse to allow adoption to same-sex couples to proceed. It could also mean that people who have had gender reassignments or similar surgeries could be disqualified. Couples who are of different races might be denied, as might couples who have different religions. Essentially, there isn’t a limit to what the closely held religious beliefs could be.
People who opposed the law claim that it is discriminatory. People who were for the law noted that this isn’t the case because the provider who is declining to handle the adoption must give the couple a referral to another agency.
Ultimately, people who are seeking to adopt a child will need to review the policies of the agency they want to work with. The last thing that you want to do is to find out that your adoption is stuck in the mud because of something that shouldn’t prevent you from being able to adopt.
Source: Star-Telegram, “Some 20,000 Texas kids need homes. But will a new law turn families away?,” Anna M. Tinsley, June 30, 2017
