Religious objection bills reemerge in state Legislature

By KATHLEEN GRAY

Detroit Free Press

LANSING (TNS) —  As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide this spring if same-sex marriage should be legal in Michigan and other states across the country, legislation aimed at protecting businesses and agencies from providing services that conflict with their religious beliefs is making its way through the state Capitol.

A House committee could vote as soon as Wednesday on a trio of bills that would allow faith-based adoption agencies to continue to operate under their religious beliefs — and refuse to provide services to same-sex or unmarried couples — without fear of losing state funding.

And the adoption bills are not the only religious liberty bills to emerge this legislative session.

A bill allowing students to freely express their religious beliefs in school has been introduced in the House of Representatives. And last legislative session, a bill that would have allowed doctors, hospitals and other medical institutions to refuse to provide services that they morally or conscientiously object to passed out of a Senate committee, but was never taken up by the full Senate.

Some 19 states have already adopted so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, and a similar bill has been reintroduced in Michigan this year. The legislation would allow a person or business to assert a religious belief defense if the state came after them for refusing services that conflict with those beliefs, such as providing catering or flowers for a same-sex marriage ceremony.

Such a bill could provide protections to the Oak Park pediatrician who recently refused to provide medical care for the baby of a lesbian couple, said Shelli Weisberg, legislative liaison for the ACLU of Michigan.

It also could protect the Upper Peninsula nurse — a Catholic — who was fired for refusing to work in a family planning clinic that provided contraception and sterilization services or the Grand Rapids woman who was investigated by the state after posting an ad looking for a Christian woman as a roommate, said David Maluchnick, spokesman for the Michigan Catholic Conference.

"There have been concerns about religious liberty for some time. There is a desire to ensure that faith-based providers and people have a place in a diverse society," he said. "There have been aggressive attempts to push faith-based providers out of the public square.

"But we believe there is a strong tradition of faith-based providers having a place and we want to ensure that continues for decades to come.The timing of the reemergence of the legislation is no coincidence," said Weisberg.

"As some of the conservatives see some of these core issues — like same-sex marriage — coming closer and closer to fruition, they want to get laws in place so they can protect their own position," she said.

During a hearing last week of the House's Family, Children and Seniors committee where the adoption bills were being discussed, state Rep. Andrea LaFontaine, R-Richmond, said the legislation "is about protecting the diversity of adoption agencies in the state."

Jose Carrera of St. Vincent Catholic Charities in Lansing said: "It would be a conflict of interest to pretend we can do an objective assessment" on a same-sex or unmarried couple. "We can only focus on what we believe is in the best interest of the child. We take that very, very seriously."

The agency, which finalized 30 adoptions in 2014 and expect a similar number in 2015, refers gay and lesbian couples to other agencies that will work with same-sex couples, Carrera said.

But state Rep. Marcia Hovey-Wright, D-Muskegon, said there are few agencies in west Michigan that aren't faith-based, leaving some couples with few options.

"I have an issue with you imposing your religious beliefs on the public," she said. "I totally respect your ability to believe as you choose. But when you're a public-private agency, you receive state money so you do have a heightened responsibility."

In the 2014-15 budget year, $19.9 million in state and federal funds went toward supporting adoption agencies for adoption and foster care services, according to the state Department of Human Services. Nearly $10 million of that total went to faith-based agencies that would be covered under the religious objection bills — including $260,740 that went to St. Vincent's.

For two couples at the hearing last week, the issue was simple: They just wanted the ability to provide a loving home for a child.

Melissa and Chad Buck have adopted four children through St. Vincent's in Lansing and continue to go back to them for support for their family.

"My concern would be that their funding would be withdrawn if they weren't able to do foster care or adoptions," Melissa Buck said.

But Jessica Barrow and her partner, Mireille Haddad, of Sterling Heights simply want adoption agencies to do what's in the best interest of the child. It took them more than a year to find an adoption agency that was willing to work with them before they adopted their daughter.

"The only way you should turn someone away is if they're not in a good, safe home," Barrow said. "I'm scared if you give someone the ability to turn away a family."

The committee is expected to vote on the three adoption bills at 9 a.m. Wednesday.