Religious Exemptions in Adoption and Foster Care (HEA 1389)

• HEA 1389: Adoption and Foster Care Matters, authored by Rep. Shane Lindauer | Status: Signed by Governor
• HB 1316: Child Welfare Provider Protections, authored by Rep. Robert Heaton | Status: Failed

While this legislation is framed as protecting faith-based organizations, foster parents, adoptive parents, and others involved in adoption and foster care from “discrimination,” it gives broad legal protections to religiously motivated refusals and policies that can limit the state’s ability to ensure placements are guided by a child’s safety and well-being.

For example, LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in foster care and face heightened risks of rejection, abuse, and homelessness. Broad religious exemptions increase the likelihood that these children will be placed in non-affirming homes or denied affirming services, undermining their safety, dignity, and mental health.

The ACLU of Indiana strongly supports the right of Hoosiers to their sincerely held religious beliefs, but that right must not come at the expense of vulnerable children. We oppose this law because decisions about foster care and adoption should be guided by the best interests, safety, and well-being of the child, not by sweeping exemptions that make it harder for the state to act in a child’s interest.