LANSING – Extremists in the Michigan House of Representatives have scheduled a hearing on Nov. 27 in the House Committee on Families, Children, and Seniors for House Bills 5763 and 5764, which would allow adoption agencies the ability to deny an adoption placement based on that agency's moral or religious beliefs. However, the bills acknowledge that denying a couple based on religious or moral convictions does not imply "that the proposed adoption is not in the best interests of the adoptee." Additionally, the bills protect public funding for agencies choosing to discriminate.
"Giving any government-funded agency a license to discriminate is immoral and unethical. With 14,000 children in Michigan seeking a safe home to prosper in, our focus should be on cultivating stable environments to raise these children, and not turning away capable and willing families eager to love and support a child in need. The strength of one's convictions alone is not justification in and of itself for any action – it is a despicable excuse for damaging another human being," said Emily Dievendorf, director of policy for Equality Michigan.
Dievendorf added, "the fact that the proposed bills specifically state that this biased filter does not imply the couple are unfit to adopt shows this is merely providing a license to discriminate based on an unlimited array of arbitrary criteria and not actually an attempt to protect children. The primary sponsor, Representative Kenneth Kurtz (R-Coldwater), is wasting our money on bills which do nothing to help the 14,000 children residing in foster care in Michigan. Rather than addressing that actual problem, they are fabricating a new one by offering this vile solution."
Equality Michigan is calling on fair minded citizens in state government to stand up and say no to this latest attempt to harm Michigan's children.
Visit http://action.equalitymi.org to find out how you can take action immediately.
