Urgent: This Bill Will Shut Down Faith-Based Adoption Agencies!
Tomorrow, January 23, at 9:00 a.m. a House Subcommittee will hear and vote on HB 1051 (D-Levine), which seeks to repeal Virginia's longstanding conscience rights protection for religious adoption agencies. (Note: this is a change from last night’s Action Alert which reported that the hearing would be today. There was a clerical error on the General Assembly’s schedule of meetings.)
If you haven’t done so already, please email all seven members of the HWI Social Services Sub-Committee today and urge them to vote NO on HB 1051.
Despite the numerous agencies in Virginia that place foster children and orphans with same-sex couples, Delegate Levine and the Democrats want to oppose religious diversity by targeting faith-based nonprofits and putting them out of business simply for placing children in homes with a mom and a dad, as has happened in other states.
There are approximately 6,000 children in foster care in Virginia. Of these children, about 1,700 are in need of adoption. Sadly, Virginia is among the worst states in America for foster youth aging out of the system without ever being adopted. So, why would our state legislature want to shut down adoption and foster agencies, as this bill would do? We need as many agencies as possible serving foster children in Virginia, not less.
Virginia has always been a place of religious diversity and tolerance. Our Commonwealth should remain a place that is welcome to people and nonprofits of all religious views. Urge your legislator to protect religious diversity and conscience rights by opposing HB 1051. We are working hard with other groups to defeat this misguided bill, but legislators need to hear from their constituents.
CLICK HERE to contact the on the Sub-Committee Members right away!
