South Carolina lesbian couple sues after foster agency turns them away

A lesbian couple in South Carolina is challenging the state's practice of letting taxpayer-funded foster care agencies reject prospective parents who don't share their religious beliefs.

The US Department of Health and Human Services issued a waiver in January that lets federally funded child welfare agencies in the state refuse to perform services that conflict with their religious values.

As a result of the waiver, Eden Rogers and Brandy Welch say, the state enabled a faith-based agency to turn them away when they tried to become foster parents in April.

The couple sued Thursday, accusing the state and the Trump administration of violating their constitutional rights by letting agencies use religious criteria to screen out would-be foster families. "Defendants' actions have created a public child welfare system in South Carolina, funded by taxpayer dollars, in which the suitability of prospective foster parents is assessed based on religious requirements," the lawsuit claims.


https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/30/politics/south-carolina-religious-exemption-waiver-lawsuit/index.html