Today sees the reintroduction of a federal bill to give more children homes by preventing discrimination against LGBTQ prospective parents in fostering or adoption.
The Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF) will be introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Congressman John Lewis (GA 5th), and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL 27th). It would halt federal funding for foster care or adoption programs that discriminate against prospective parents because of their marital status, gender identity, or sexual orientation, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the adoptive child. The bill is modeled after the 1994 Multiethnic Placement Act that prohibits discrimination in adoption and foster placements based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Join the Family Equality Council and PFLAG National at 2 p.m. EST today for a Twitter chat on the ECDF reintroduction. Follow the conversation with the hashtag #ECDFChat.
This is the fourth Congress to consider ECDF. It has died in committee each time, although the list of sponsors continues to grow. Let’s hope it succeeds this time as an antidote to several states’ “religious freedom” bills that would allow foster care and adoption agencies receiving public funds to discriminate where the placement of a child with an adult would violate the religious or moral beliefs of the provider.
One such bill died recently in Florida, but others are still pending in Texas, Alabama, and, most worryingly, Michigan.
In Michigan, a group of three bills on the matter have already passed the House—the farthest along of any state. The next step is a hearing in the Senate, where they will likely pass if put up to a vote. It remains unclear if Gov. Rick Snyder (R) would sign them if they pass. If you live in Michigan, please take action and urge your Senators to vote against the bills. No matter where you live, encourage your U.S. senators and representatives to support ECDF.