Adoption agencies 'conscience clause' passes Senate

The state Senate on Thursday approved the "conscience clause" bill that allows state-funded private adoption agencies to deny placement services to children and prospective parents who don't share their beliefs.

The bill effectively would allow faith-based organizations, such as Catholic Charities, to legally deny the placement of gay children and the adoption of children by gay parents.

Senate Bill 349, sponsored by Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach, codifies recently adopted state regulations governing the adoption and foster-care placement of children by state-funded agencies.

It passed the chamber on a 22-18 vote, with two Democrats — Sens. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, and Phillip P. Puckett, D-Russell siding with all 20 Republicans in the evenly divided chamber.

Federal law prohibits discrimination by race, national origin and religion. Virginia law allows adoption to married couples and single adults — gay or straight — but does not extend to gay couples.

McWaters said the bill doesn't change who can and who cannot adopt children in Virginia. Instead, he said, it preserves the rights of faith-based organizations to carry out their services without violating the tenets of their religious beliefs.

But critics say the current regulations allow faith-based adoption agencies — which account for more than half of the 80 placement agencies that receive state funding — to discriminate against gay children or a prospective gay parent if their lifestyle conflicts with the religious beliefs of the organization.

Further, they argued that the legislation would sanction an even broader and arbitrary discrimination, because it potentially allows any private placement agency licensed by the state to make up its own changing set of discriminatory rules in administration of services.

On Wednesday, 18 Democratic amendments to the bill were voted down. On Thursday, many of the same sponsors of the amendments spoke out against the measure on the floor, arguing that no placement agency has the right to impose its beliefs on others if it is using state dollars.

Sen. Adam P. Ebbin, D-Alexandria, Virginia's first openly gay legislator, gave a personal speech on the floor, citing the experiences of several gay friends and the children they have adopted. The bill, he said, "doesn't uphold moral principles. It's morally wrong."

And Sen. Mark R. Herring, D-Loudoun, said the bill misses the larger point. With 5,327 children under the state's care, policy should not be geared toward the interests of the placement agency, "but what's in the best interests of the child, period."

Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation of Virginia, said: "The passage of conscience protection for private child-placement agencies by a bipartisan majority in the Senate is a tremendous victory for religious liberty and for the thousands of children and families around Virginia that are served by these agencies."

She added: "These private agencies will continue to follow state and federal laws and regulations and will do so while abiding by their faith principles. They deserve our respect and support."

The measure now heads to the House of Delegates, which recently passed a similar measure by a wide margin. Gov. Bob McDonnell has indicated he supports the legislation.