by Pastor Michael W. Salemink
“With shekels come shackles,” says longtime LFL Board of Directors member John Eidsmoe.
He means that when government offers public funding of something, it also imposes rigid regulations. Many times those stipulations not only dismiss but outright discourage and even disallow the practice of the Christian faith. So Christian entities have to exercise great caution before becoming entangled with tax dollars.
Such a situation is developing with regard to foster care and adoption. For centuries, Christian individuals and agencies have facilitated these arrangements and relationships. Over the last hundred-some years, civic administrations have taken an interest in it. That makes sense because government does have the vocation of ensuring the safety of vulnerable populations. And communal resources enable better measures of both effectiveness and accountability. It has resulted in fruitful partnerships where society benefits from Christians’ enthusiasm to extend merciful service and Christians benefit from citizens’ considerable financial support.
But cultural morals have shifted—quite seismically. Popular attitudes about sexuality, marriage, family, and children no longer reflect or even respect Christian realities. Significant forces are leveraging government structures and processes to advance a licentious agenda. So the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a new rule that would exclude families who don’t affirm divergent sexual or gender expressions (LGBTQI+) from fostering children who exhibit these dysphorias. The policy would also significantly impair faith-based nonprofits who celebrate biblical sexuality from carrying out their foster and adoption missions.
Last month, the HHS invited submission of comments about the recommendation. Our dear brother Rev. Dr. Eidsmoe (J.D. in law, D.Min. in theology, Col. chaplain in state military, and Lt. Col. JAG in USAF, as well as pastor and professor!) filed the following statement on our behalf:
“As Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law, as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy, and as a Board member of Lutherans For Life, I write to speak against the proposed Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements for Titles IV-E and IV-B.
These requirements mandate that, to be approved as ‘safe’ by federal standards, foster households must affirm and support gay lifestyles. We object to these requirements because:
(1) They violate the free exercise and free speech rights of individuals and families who believe, for religious or other reasons, that the gay and transgender lifestyles are contrary to the Bible and are harmful to the children these requirements supposedly are intended to protect. They constitute viewpoint discrimination which the courts highly disfavor because they endorse gay-affirming speech and condemn the opposite viewpoint. In a sense, they also constitute highly disfavored prior restraint, because prospective foster parents must agree to these viewpoints before becoming foster parents.
(2) They deny foster children the opportunity to hear other sides of this issue.
(3) They ignore a substantial body of evidence suggesting that the gay and transgender lifestyles are harmful to children.
(4) Any possible state or federal interest in protecting gay and transgender children could be fulfilled by less restrictive means, including but not limited to a requirement that foster children who so request will be placed with parents who support their gender preferences.”
We thank our Heavenly Father for John’s Gospel-motivated voice For Life. We encourage you also to speak God’s truth in public dialogue and in personal conversations for safeguarding the sanctity of these little ones.
And we invite you to consider exploring or attending our upcoming Lutheran Adoption Conference April 10-11 in Houston, Texas. Visit lutheransadopt.org for more information.
It’s time for the Church to engage again the privileges and responsibilities of orphan care so that the state doesn’t have to!
