The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a dispute between the city of Philadelphia and a Catholic adoption agency that refuses to place children with same-sex couples.
The court’s brief order, issued Thursday, Aug. 30, didn’t say why the court denied the adoption agency’s request for intervention, according to the New York Times. But the newspaper did point out that “Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch said they would have granted it.”
The case now returns to the Philadelphia-based federal appeals court.
The dispute began in March when the city stopped referring children to Catholic Social Services after Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration found out the agency would not work with LGBT foster parents, The Daily Caller reports. Catholic Social Services then sued the city, saying that the decision violated its First Amendment right to free speech and free exercise of religion. City officials, however, said its adoption partners have to comply with the city’s non-discrimination laws.
The federal district judge ruled in favor of the city, and the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift the freeze on placements as the case moves through the appeals process. The adoption agency then asked the Supreme Court to intervene, claiming, “The city of Philadelphia’s vindictive conduct will lead to displaced children, empty homes, and the closure of a 100-year-old religious ministry. Emergency relief is necessary to prevent this harm.”
The city’s response was those nobody made the Catholic agency ask for the contracts with the city: “No one is compelling CSS to apply for these city-funded contracts in the first place, and CSS can always simply choose not to participate.”
