Kelly: SCOTUS Ruling in Fulton v. Philadelphia a Win for First Amendment and Children Seeking Loving Homes

Statement

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously ruled that the city of Philadelphia violated the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause when it refused to contract with Catholic Social Services (CSS) for adoption and foster care services because the faith-based organization refused to place children with same-sex couples.

U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), author of the Child Welfare and Inclusion Act, issued this statement on the ruling:

"This ruling means that more children in Philadelphia and across this nation will find loving homes with the help of faith-based adoption and foster care providers who will no longer be required to choose between violating their religious beliefs and closing their doors. Thank you to the Supreme Court for affirming that no child welfare services provider should ever have to forfeit their First Amendment rights to create a better life for a child."

Background

The city of Philadelphia announced in March 2018 that it would no longer contract with faith-based organizations that only place children in homes with parents of the opposite sex. That led CSS, which had been helping the city provide child welfare services for decades, to file a lawsuit. In 2019, Representative Kelly and Senator Tim Scott led several members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to file an Amicus Brief in support of CSS as it fought against this discriminatory policy.

Long before this case, Kelly recognized this threat to religious freedom and children seeking loving homes so he authored the Child Welfare Inclusion Act to prohibit states from excluding organizations from providing these services because of their religious beliefs.

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