NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An advocacy organization that works to uphold the separation of church and state filed an appeal Thursday on a complex Tennessee case. It alleged a couple was denied the chance to adopt by a state-funded Methodist agency because of their faith, and they said a 2020 state law allowed the decision.
The law, House Bill 0836, allowed private adoption agencies to deny adoptions on moral and religious grounds. They said the bill allowed the couple to be subject to religious discrimination.
In January, a Jewish couple in Knoxville said the law allowed the adoption agency to reject them because of their faith. They said the state violated religious freedom and equal-protection guarantees in the Tennessee Constitution by funding an agency that discriminates against clients based on their religion.
Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram said they were in the process of fostering to adopt a child from Florida when they were abruptly turned away by Holston United Methodist Home for Children. It would have provided out-of-state training services for them, as required by the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.
Four faith leaders, a retired psychologist and an officer of the Tennessee chapter of Americans United For Separation of Church and State joined the couple in filing the lawsuit.
In late June, their lawsuit was dismissed by a state court. The court said that the law had nothing to do with the agency's refusal and said that the matter had also been resolved since the couple later became foster parents.
A three-judge panel ruled in favor of dismissing the lawsuit. Judges Roy B. Morgan Jr. and Carter S. Moore weighed in favor of dismissal, and Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle dissented in part.
On Thursday, the Americans United For Separation of Church and State filed an appeal on that decision in the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
“This young couple wanted to help a child in need—only to be told that they couldn’t get services from a taxpayer-funded agency because they’re the wrong religion," said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United. "Everyone should be appalled by the treatment they received.”