Jessica Bates, an Oregon mother, was told she could not adopt because of her religious beliefs. Now, after a legal battle, she has finally been approved to reapply for her license to adopt.
Oregon mother is free to adopt after winning legal battle over gender-ideology mandate
ADF attorneys represent Jessica Bates in favorable settlement of three-year long lawsuit against Oregon officials
adflegal.org
We filed an amicus brief in support of Jessica because religious beliefs should never disqualify someone from opening their home to a child in need.
Children deserve loving families, and qualified parents should not be excluded because of their faith.
Read our brief:
Jessica Bates is not alone.
Nancy Harmon was almost prevented from adopting her foster children because of her religious beliefs.
When gender ideology becomes a barrier to adoption, children and families pay the price.
A great win for Jessica Bates and children in foster care! Gender ideology should never stand in the way of giving vulnerable children the loving families they deserve.
CASE SETTLED: Oregon mother Jessica Bates is now free to adopt after the state excluded her in 2023 for her religious beliefs.
Read more:
https://adflegal.org/press-release/oregon-mother-is-free-to-adopt-after-winning-legal-battle-over-gender-ideology-mandate/
Director @BayerPicciotti joins @AveAfternoon to break down the clash between Florida Attorney General @JamesUthmeierFL and the state's Catholic bishops on vaccine policy in Catholic schools.
As Director @BayerPicciotti wrote in her latest column, there can be a compromise that accommodates the state, the Church, and the families.
Florida’s Catholic School Vaccine Fight Doesn’t Need a Winner and a Loser
COMMENTARY: Florida can respect the bishops’ authority over Catholic schools while preserving a workable path for parents with vaccine objections.
www.ncregister.com
Director @BayerPicciotti urges Florida Attorney General @JamesUthmeierFL and the state's Catholic bishops to find a balance without compromising conscience, school choice, and Church autonomy.
Florida’s Catholic School Vaccine Fight Doesn’t Need a Winner and a Loser
COMMENTARY: Florida can respect the bishops’ authority over Catholic schools while preserving a workable path for parents with vaccine objections.
www.ncregister.com
Military chaplains face a lose-lose situation, as the government demands credentials for service but also refuses to assist chaplains in pursuing them.
Director @BayerPicciotti explains how Johnson v. Fleming can add much-needed assurance to military chaplains.
Listen: Director @BayerPicciotti joins @AveAfternoon to discuss the disappointing court decision blocking the town of Quincy, MA, from installing two bronze statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian to honor first responders.
Massachusetts' highest court has blocked Quincy, MA, from installing a St. Michael the Archangel statue and a St. Florian statue to honor the town’s first responders.
@BayerPicciotti joined @LarsLarsonShow to discuss what the Supreme Judicial Court got wrong in this religious
A decade ago, a clear majority of Americans had high confidence in U.S. colleges and universities. Today, fewer than a third do, while the share with very little or no confidence has nearly tripled.
Higher ed’s confidence crisis has been years in the making.
States cannot exclude religious schools from public benefits, and UPK should be made available to families who choose to send their kids to Catholic preschool.
That’s why we’re supporting this SCOTUS case to ensure that religious families aren’t left behind. See how the Halls
Colorado’s "universal" preschool program isn’t really universal. Some families were shut out of the program just because they chose to send their children to a Catholic preschool—denying them access to the same funds available to everyone else. Now, St. Mary v. Roy is headed to
Massachusetts’ highest court just blocked statues honoring police and firefighters because they’re “closely affiliated with a particular religion.”
No religiously-tied monument in America is safe if that logic holds.
My latest in @FDRLST: https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/01/massachusetts-court-says-town-cant-build-statues-of-christian-heroes-because-theyre-christian/
NEW: “A city honoring its police officers and firefighters with the patron saints those men and women have invoked for generations is not establishing a religion."
Director @BayerPicciotti responds to Massachusetts’ latest ruling and warns against the growing effort to scrub
NEW: "Suggesting that medieval saints anticipated and endorsed transgender ideology sits in direct tension with the guidance of the Church’s own shepherds."
Director @BayerPicciotti and @maryricehasson respond to the National Catholic Reporter’s promotion of “Transgender History
Why Catholics should reject the month and myth of “trangendered Saints”
Why Catholics should reject the month and myth of “trangendered Saints”
www.catholicworldreport.com
