On Friday a federal judge in Michigan allowed Dumont v. Lyon to move forward. Experts say this case impacts faith-based charities across the country that provide adoption services and LGBT couples seeking to adopt and foster children.
Dumont v. Lyon focuses on whether faith-based adoption agencies can turn away same-sex couples for religious reasons if they receive state funding.
In September 2017, the ACLU sued the state of Michigan on behalf of two same-sex couples and a former foster child, arguing that the state is violating the First Amendment’s establishment clause by allowing faith-based agencies that receive state funds to deny services to same-sex couples.
The case snapshot on counsel Becket’s website states, “Nationwide, we face a crisis-level shortage of families willing to foster and adopt. But in 2017, the ACLU sued the State of Michigan to shut down its partnerships with faith-based foster and adoption agencies, putting at risk thousands of children who desperately need homes. Becket is representing several foster children, families and St. Vincent Catholic Charities to maintain this vital partnership.”
It’s one of the first cases of its kind, and experts say it’s likely to set a legal precedent for courts and legislatures nationwide. In July, the state and one of the faith-based adoption agencies, St. Vincent Catholic Charities of Lansing, Michigan, filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Judge Paul D. Borman of the Eastern District Court of Michigan denied the motion. He wrote that St. Vincent’s arguments that prohibiting the state from allowing the use of religious criteria would violate the agency’s First Amendment rights of free religious exercise and free speech were irrelevant to the plaintiff’s claims at this stage in the case, and he was not convinced that St. Vincent would prevail on that claim in the end.
To read the Deseret News extensive coverage of this case, click here.
