South Carolina Same-Sex Couple to Have Their Day in Court in Challenge to HHS and South Carolina Foster Care Policy
Lawsuit challenges HHS permitting a government-funded South Carolina foster care agency to reject applications from families that do not share its religious beliefs
Greenville, S.C. 鈥� A federal court today rejected the Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to create a religious license to discriminate by allowing a lawsuit on behalf of a same-sex couple turned away from a taxpayer-funded child welfare agency to move forward. The lawsuit was filed by the 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of South Carolina, Lambda Legal, and South Carolina Equality.
Eden Rogers and Brandy Welch were turned away from Miracle Hill Ministries, South Carolina鈥檚 largest state-contracted foster care agency which receives hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funds that enable it to provide more comprehensive services than other agencies. Their application to serve as foster parents was denied for failing to meet the agency鈥檚 religious criteria, which exclude prospective foster parents who are not evangelical Protestant Christian or who are same-sex couples of any faith.
鈥淭his is fantastic news, and we look forward to Eden and Brandy鈥檚 day in court,鈥� said Currey Cook, counsel and director of the Youth in Out-Of-Home Care Project at Lambda Legal. 鈥淣o child in foster care who can鈥檛 safely be with their family should be denied the opportunity of a loving and nurturing foster home simply because the prospective parents don鈥檛 meet a taxpayer-funded agency鈥檚 religious litmus test. Eden and Brandy鈥檚 faith and sexual orientation have no bearing on their suitability to provide a home for children in need.鈥�
鈥淭he federal government told the over 400,000 children in our nation's foster care system that the religious beliefs of the agencies caring for them come before their needs. Today a federal court pushed back, saying that allowing taxpayer-funded agencies to turn away qualified families because of an agency鈥檚 religious criteria violates the Constitution,鈥� said Leslie Cooper, deputy director for the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 LGBT & HIV Project.
鈥淲e are very excited to hear our case is going forward in court. There are many children in South Carolina that need foster homes, and we remain hopeful that couples like us can provide children a lovely home without being rejected or discriminated against,鈥� said Brandy Welch and Eden Rogers.
鈥淭he thousands of children in South Carolina's foster care system are the ones who suffer most when agencies like Miracle Hill use religion as a license to discriminate against people who can provide a loving, nurturing home,鈥� said Susan Dunn, legal director for the 老澳门开奖结果 of South Carolina. 鈥淏y allowing this practice to continue, the state of South Carolina and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have failed the vulnerable children they are supposed to be helping. We are excited this case is moving ahead and look forward to continuing the fight against government using religion to deprive children of loving homes.鈥�
The U.S. Supreme Court will have an opportunity to weigh in on taxpayer-funded agencies discriminating based on their religious beliefs next term. The Court will hear a case in which a foster care agency claims that the city of Philadelphia鈥檚 nondiscrimination requirement 鈥� which prohibits City-contracted foster care agencies from discriminating against same-sex couples 鈥� violates the agency鈥檚 Constitutional rights. While these cases involve child welfare, a decision from the high court could impact a variety of taxpayer-funded government services such as health care, homeless shelters, and food delivery programs.
The attorneys working on the case are Currey Cook, Karen Loewy, and Puneet Cheema from Lambda Legal; Leslie Cooper and Daniel Mach from the 老澳门开奖结果; Susan Dunn from 老澳门开奖结果 of South Carolina; Peter T. Barbur and Katherine Janson from Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, and M. Malissa Burnette and Nekki Shutt from Burnette Shutt & McDaniel on behalf of South Carolina Equality Coalition.
Legal documents for Rogers v. HHS are here: /cases/rogers-v-health-and-human-services
Legal documents for the pending Supreme Court case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia are here: /cases/fulton-v-city-philadelphia
LGBTQ Rights
Rogers v. Health and Human Services
LGBTQ Rights
Rogers v. Health and Human Services
Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues in This Press Release
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
President Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender YouthPresident Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON 鈥� The U.S. Senate today passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth whose parents are active-duty military personnel. The 老澳门开奖结果 is opposing final passage of the defense bill over the inclusion of this health care ban and calling on President Joe Biden to veto the bill. Section 708 of the NDAA would prohibit insurance coverage for 鈥渕edical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria鈥� such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, which Speaker Mike Johnson says would 鈥減ermanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors.鈥� The same treatments would be covered by TRICARE for any medical purpose other than treating gender dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis for the psychological distress experienced by transgender people related to their gender identity. 鈥淏y passing this bill, the House and Senate are forcing thousands of active-duty service members to choose between their careers in the military and the future of their transgender children,鈥� said Mike Zamore, national director of policy & government affairs at the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淭his unconscionable and unjustifiable attack on those families stands in direct contrast to President Joe Biden鈥檚 legacy of defending the civil rights of transgender Americans 鈥� including when few in his own party showed the courage to do so. President Biden should cement his legacy by vetoing this bill and sending it back to Congress to pass without Speaker Johnson鈥檚 last minute health care ban for servicemembers鈥� kids.鈥� If signed by President Biden, this health care ban would be the first new anti-LGBTQ provision enacted by Congress and signed into law by the president since the enactment of the military鈥檚 since-repealed 鈥淒on鈥檛 Ask, Don鈥檛 Tell鈥� policy for LGBTQ servicemembers and the since-repealed federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages known as the Defense of Marriage Act. It is unknown how many transgender youth are currently enrolled in TRICARE or how many of those enrolled are currently receiving coverage for gender-affirming care. In one 2022 analysis, 2,500 minor patients sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE Prime insurance at military or civilian treatment facilities in 2017, and 900 received puberty suppressants or gender-affirming hormones. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case brought by the 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump on behalf of three families and a medical provider challenging a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming hormonal therapies for transgender youth on the grounds the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Montana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's LicensesMontana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. 鈥� A Montana court has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Montana from enforcing policies that bar transgender people from obtaining accurate sex designations on their birth certificates and driver鈥檚 licenses. After a prior restriction on amendments of birth certificates was struck down by the courts, in early 2024 the state of Montana enacted a new rule that categorically bars transgender Montanans from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. Around the same time, the Montana Department of Justice adopted a policy similarly restricting amendment of driver鈥檚 licenses. The plaintiffs challenged these policies in state district court, arguing that they violate various constitutional provisions, including the right to equal protection of the law. In a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, two justices concluded that discrimination on the basis of transgender status 鈥� as the state is engaging in here 鈥� is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Montana Constitution鈥檚 equal protection clause. The plaintiffs, two transgender women, are represented by the 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Plaintiff Jessica Kalarchik, a veteran who served in the United States Army for 31 years, said: 鈥淎fter finally being able to live my life openly as the woman I know myself to be, I am frustrated that my birth state, Montana, wants me to carry around a birth certificate that incorrectly lists my sex as male. I live my life openly as a woman, I am treated as a woman in my daily life, and there is no reason I should be forced to carry a birth certificate that incorrectly identifies me as male. Fortunately, the court agrees that this ridiculous policy should not be in effect.鈥� 鈥淥nce again the State of Montana chose to adopt a draconian policy that is clearly intended to marginalize transgender Montanans, only for that discriminatory action to be blocked by the courts,鈥� said Akilah Deernose, executive director for the 老澳门开奖结果 of Montana. 鈥淗ere in Montana we treasure our right to privacy and to live our lives free from governmental intrusion. The State of Montana clearly has not learned any lessons from the past few years, where courts have repeatedly struck down unconstitutional laws targeting transgender Montanans.鈥� 鈥淔orcing anyone to carry documents that contradict their identity unjustly violates their rights to privacy, equal treatment, and not being compelled to convey a government message about their sex that they disagree with,鈥� said Malita Picasso, staff attorney for the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 LGBTQ & HIV Project. 鈥淪uch a policy marks transgender people for further mistreatment and discrimination, essentially requiring them to carry papers that out them as transgender any time they need to provide identity documents. Fortunately, the court has refused to allow the state of Montana to subvert the freedom of transgender Montanans to control their own identity as this case goes forward.鈥� In granting the plaintiffs鈥� motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held, 鈥淸i]f the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate the basis of sex.鈥� The state has the option of appealing the district court鈥檚 ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, but the underlying case will proceed in district court. A trial has not yet been scheduled. -
FloridaDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. DixonKeohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one鈥檚 gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The 老澳门开奖结果 brought a class action challenging the policy. -
IdahoDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Robinson v. LabradorRobinson v. Labrador
Two incarcerated transgender women have sued the state of Idaho alleging that HB 688, a 2024 law barring state funding for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, denies them access to the health care their doctors have prescribed for them and is a violation of their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. They represent a class of all incarcerated folks within the state of Idaho who face the loss of hormone therapy due to HB 668.