Adoption Agencies Can Turn Away Gay Couples, New Alabama Law Says

Adoption agencies in Alabama will be allowed to turn away gay couples, thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey this week. House Bill 24, or the Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act, would permit adoption agencies in the state to adhere to faith-based policies, allowing them to refuse to place children with gay couples.

The House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 87-0 with six abstentions last week. Sponsored by Rep. Rich Wingo, the bill is similar to legislation passed in other states like Michigan, South Dakota, North Dakota and Virginia. An amendment to the bill stated adoption agencies that receive state or federal funding would not be protected under the legislation.

Vocal opponents of the bill said it would give adoption agencies free license to discriminate.

“We are deeply disappointed that the legislature and the governor took on this unnecessary, discriminatory bill instead of focus on how to improve the lives of all Alabamians, no matter who they are or who they love,” Eva Kendrick, director of the Alabama branch of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement Wednesday. “The intent of this law is clear: to discriminate, causing the most harm to children in Alabama’s child welfare system.”

State Rep. Patricia Todd, an advocate for gay rights, said the bill “obviously came about because same-sex marriage was approved” and said the legislation was “based in a stereotype.”

But Ivey, Wingo and other supporters said that wasn’t the purpose of the bill. The bill aimed, instead, to make sure adoption agencies would not be forced to close because of decisions made based on their faith, they said.

“I ultimately signed House Bill 24 because it ensures hundreds of children can continue to find ‘forever homes’ through religiously-affiliated adoption agencies,” Ivey said in a statement. “This bill is not about discrimination but instead protects the ability of religious agencies to place vulnerable children in a permanent home.”

Most adoptions in the state are handled by secular agencies and not faith-based agencies, Wingo said.

“This bill is not discriminating against anyone,” he said. “Nowhere in the bill does it say anything like that or lead you to believe that.”