A Virginia adoption agency has declared that committed people of faith cannot adopt children through their program. Liberty Counsel has accepted this case, and we are fighting to stop a grievous wrong.

STOP discrimination against Christian adoptions! Support our legal fund today and a special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE your impact.

On any given day, there are approximately 350,000 American children stranded in the foster care system. Over 100,000 of those children are up for adoption, with few homes willing to take them.
Statistics show Christians are 2–3 times more likely to adopt than the rest of the population. But if this rogue adoption agency gets its way, those Christians will need to deny their faith and violate their deeply held beliefs in order to give an orphaned child a home.

Pete* and Maria* spent three years preparing to adopt a child, going through background checks, training, and home visits in hopes of adopting a parentless child. A child was placed in their care, and the adoption date was scheduled for this summer.

But then the adoption agency learned Pete and Maria were people of faith, so now the agency is seeking to terminate the adoption unless the couple violates their deeply held religious beliefs.

Pete and Maria are devoted Catholics who believe taking any drug, but especially a vaccine that’s derived from, tested on, or includes aborted fetal cells, is a sin. From the beginning, Pete and Maria made this fact clear to the adoption agency. They were told it would be no problem as long as they sought a religious exemption certificate from their state.

In January, Pete and Maria’s patience turned to joy as a child was placed in their care. They had their religious exemption certificate in place, and the adoption was scheduled for finalization in July.

Maria quit her job to devote her full attention to mothering this beautiful child. Pete switched to remote work so that he could be home with Maria to help the child acclimate to the new home. Everything was going swimmingly, until the adoption agency declared that Pete and Maria MUST vaccinate the child or the child would be removed from their custody — regardless of their religious exemption from vaccination.

The couple was given just two weeks to violate their faith or lose their child.

Help us fight for Pete & Maria!
Support our legal fund today!

What this adoption agency has conveniently forgotten is that even adoptive parents have religious freedom rights. No government agency or private organization (like an adoption agency) can discriminate against individuals for choosing to use those rights.

As demonstrated above, Christians are far more likely than the general population to adopt a child.

If “woke” adoption agencies require Christians to give up their religious freedom rights in order to adopt, fewer children will be rescued from the foster care system.

Liberty Counsel exists to defend the religious freedom rights for everyday people like Pete and Maria. We never charge our clients because few could afford to defend their rights. Instead, people like Pete and Maria rely on YOU, the faithful Liberty Counsel supporter, to ensure religious freedom rights are retained by everyone.

Our legal work has set numerous legal precedents in keeping religious freedom alive in America. When you give, you are not just helping individuals like Pete and Maria, you are helping to ensure EVERYONE’s religious freedom rights are protected and preserved.

Please, make your best possible one-time gift or even a small recurring monthly gift to support our legal work. Together, we can ensure religious freedom lasts for generations to come.

A special Challenge Grant for our legal fund has been extended — which will DOUBLE the impact of every donation made today. Please, give generously so that NO ONE can prevent the adoption of a beautiful child just because the prospective parents are Christians.

Please be in prayer for Pete, Maria, and the precious child in their care.

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

*Names changed for privacy.

Sources:

“Fact Sheets.” Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. Accessed April 8, 2025. Ccainstitute.org/resources/fact-sheets.