Meeting Public Comments

Lisa Martincik

So basically, SF 236 wants to make it explicitly acceptable for people using religion to excuse bigotry to foster or adopt children, with the understanding that children deviating from their rigid beliefs will be repressed right into the closet against their own best health and interests.How is this not a direct violation of the separation of church and state? Why would we make exception for a particular type or or specific source of bigotry? Theoretically this bill would allow prospective parents to raise children to any sexual lifestyle in which they claim to sincerely believe, even if that means teaching children that humans reproduce asexually or viviparously, or that sexual assault is in the home is acceptable.

Joshua Flory

I oppose this bill. Why try to take a child in your care if you are sincerely opposed to their identity? This bill seeks only to harm and punish ideas and beliefs that aren't "traditional"

LaTosha Peters

I strongly oppose this bill.

Joseph Wallace

Oppose. Why should one's sincerely held moral or religious beliefs be allowed to overrule the sincerely held belief of identity, or physical feelings of another, especially in the situation of a child, and the person who is supposed to be caring for them as they grow.

Sierra Long

I strongly oppose SF236. Foster care should prioritize the wellbeing of children, not the personal religious beliefs of foster parents. This bill would allow children to be placed in environments that reject their identity, causing them harm instead of providing the support and acceptance they need. Every child deserves a safe and affirming home

Joseph Wallace

Oppose. Why should one's sincerely held moral or religious beliefs be allowed to overrule the sincerely held belief of identity, or physical feelings of another, especially in the situation of a child, and the person who is supposed to be caring for them as they grow.

Lyle Thomas

Hello,I oppose this bill as it will harm children.

Noah Petersen

I strongly oppose this bill, this bill forces children into unsafe homes. Stop trying to hurt children

Don Gookin

I strongly oppose this bill. This legislation would allow children in foster care to be placed with foster parents who place more importance on their own religious beliefs than on the health and safety of the child. LGBTQ+ youth are already statistically more likely to be subject to violence, mental health issues, and risk of suicide. This bill will only worsen the situation for these kids who are placed with foster parents who fundamentally disapprove of who they are.

Rochelle Douglass

I strongly oppose this bill. Children need to be placed in homes where the adults love and care for them without exception. No child should be in a placement where they do not feel accepted and celebrated.

Monty Montero-Elliott

I oppose this bill in the strongest possible terms. So you want to make it legal for foster parents to torture their kids or kick them out for being LGBT? Cool bill Sandy!

Gregory Chafuen [Alliance Defending Freedom]

SF 236 helps more children find loving homes. The foster care system is overwhelmed. To help, many people of faith gladly open their doors to care for these children. Iowa needs more families to care for children, not fewer. SF 236 protects faithbased foster care and adoption organizations and the families they serve from religious discrimination. More adoption and foster care agencies mean more loving homes and families ready to welcome kids in great need.Without help, these children face lifelong challenges, including higher rates of arrest, lower graduation rates, poor physical and mental health, and unstable housing and homelessness. Even the Supreme Court recognizes the benefits of having more, not fewer, adoption and foster care providers. They recently said that maximizing the number of foster families and minimizing liability are important goals . If anything, including Catholic Social Services in the program seems likely to increase, not reduce, the number of available foster parents. Allowing them to serve is not only beneficial for children but it is also required by the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court also made clear that state governments violate the requirements of religious neutrality when they undermine religious beliefs or practices, because the government fails to act neutrally when it proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs or restricts practices because of their religious nature. Faithbased organizations have helped children find loving foster homes and adoptive homes for centuries. Unfortunately, states and federal regulations are discriminating against faithbased adoption and fostercare organizations, refusing to work with them because they wont change their deeplyheld beliefs about marriage and family.For example, New Hope Family Services in New York has repeatedly been harassed by state officials because the organizations faithbased values dictate that it only places children in families with a mother and father committed to each other in marriage.Even worse than the attacks on faithbased organizations that want to help children find loving homes, qualified families are facing discrimination. They are denied from being able to open their home to a child in need unless they agree to affirm a childs confusion about his or her biological sex.For example, Bryan and Becca Gantt have a heart for kids born with fetal alcohol syndrome and kids born with drug dependencies. They have adopted several children with such special needs. But Vermont refused to let them foster a newborn unless the couple agreed to use inaccurate pronouns and take a child to a pride parade. The state even revoked their foster care license. The same happened to Brian and Katy Wuoti when they told state officials that they could not encourage gender confusion in children they fostered. Unfortunately, stories like theirs are happening in states across the nation. This bill protects prospective foster and adoptive parents from state requirements that exclude people of certain religions because of their religious beliefs. It protects faithbased adoption and foster care service providers from state discrimination because of their religion. And it allows states to place children with families that are in the best interest of the child while continuing to allow a diverse field of applicants to open their doors to children in need.SF 236 would help Iowa children by stopping discrimination based on religious views and beliefs; expanding the number of groups working to solve the child welfare crisis; protecting diversity of providers (while stopping no one from seeking services); allowing critical foster care services to reach more communities; and giving more kids in need a loving home.