Children are the new casualties of the cultural revolution

OPINION:

Innocent children have become casualties in the ongoing cultural revolution.

Last year, the state of Oregon prohibited Jessica Bates, a mother of five, from becoming certified as a foster care parent.

Why?

Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday. 

Oregon’s Department of Human Services requires foster parents to “respect, accept and support the race, spiritual beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, disabilities, national origin, cultural identities, immigration status and socioeconomic status of a child or young adult in the care or custody of the Department.”

As a Christian, Jessica told state officials that she respects everyone, but that she believes “God gives us our gender/sex and it’s not something we get to choose.” In other words, she cannot in good conscience support any effort to try and change one’s biological sex.

As a result, the Beaver State has banned her from opening the Bates home to a child in foster care.

Keep in mind there are over 8,000 children in foster care in Oregon and over 200 waiting for a home.

Jessica Bates is part of the solution – and the state of Oregon is now part of the problem.

The case is now with the Ninth Circuit, which heard arguments this past summer. A decision could come at any time. And it’s not just happening in Oregon.

Listen to the ReFOCUS with Jim Daly podcast, where Jim digs deep and asks the hard questions to help you share Christ’s grace, truth and love.

“Jessica is a loving mother who wants to open her home to children in need right now, but Oregon officials are excluding her and countless other families because of their religious beliefs about sexual ethics and the human body,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs.

“Because these caregivers cannot promote Oregon’s dangerous gender ideology to young kids, the state considers them to be unfit parents. That’s false and harmful, needlessly depriving these kids of opportunities to find a loving home. We are urging the Ninth Circuit to remind Oregon that the foster and adoption system is supposed to serve the best interests of children, not the state’s ideological crusade.”

Children in foster care are innocent victims of something that went horribly wrong – whether at the hands of an abusive parent, a drug addict, or some other difficult circumstance. It’s outrageous that loving, committed, and qualified parents are being disqualified from serving these children – all because they believe the very thing that Christians have considered foundational and fundamental for thousands of years.

What’s going on in Oregon is nothing short of religious bigotry and discrimination. It’s also downright foolish and selfish.

“My client will love and respect every child, every LGBT child, will not reject or denigrate or vilify them but care for them and love them,” Mr. Scruggs told the Ninth Circuit. “Oregon has taken the position that categorically you have to support in all ways, including by using certain pronouns, including by being willing to take a child to pride parades.”

In the history of the world, Christians have regularly stepped in to help when so many others were running the other way. Whether providing healthcare in hospitals, education in schools, or a safe and loving home, moms and dads who love Jesus have served admirably – and want to continue doing so when it comes to the Oregon foster care system.

Scripture teaches that each of us is called to care for the vulnerable. Other than a child in the womb, no one is more vulnerable than a child without a family. How can you help?

First, take the issue to prayer. Then consider some meaningful ways to engage. Your family might feel called to provide respite care for foster children for a season. You could also help a family in your church who’s already answered the call to foster and needs encouragement and support. Or maybe God will place it on your heart to adopt and provide a permanent home for a hurting child.

It’s time to step up and help – and it’s time for states like Oregon to put the needs of children ahead of woke and reckless social experimentation.

–

Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and host of its daily radio broadcast, heard by more than 6 million listeners a week on nearly 2,000 radio stations across the U.S. He also hosts the podcast ReFocus with Jim Daly.