Oregon Can’t Mandate LGBT Acceptance for Christian Adopter, 9th Circuit Finds

July 30, 2025

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that Oregon officials cannot prevent a Christian mother from adopting solely because she objects to LGBT ideology.

Christianity Daily reports that, in a 2-1 decision, the court reversed a lower court’s ruling when it found that Jessica Bates was wrongfully denied an adoption application by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Bates, a widowed mother of 5, had applied for adoptive parent certification in May 2022 through the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), hoping to adopt two children under the age of nine.

But her application was denied after Bates refused, on religious grounds, to adhere to the trans-identified child’s preferred pronouns.

In April 2023, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a complaint on Bates’ behalf against ODHS and Malheur County officials, accusing them of violating her First Amendment rights.

Circuit Judge Daniel A. Bress, who authored the majority opinion, wrote: We hold that Oregon’s policy violates the First Amendment as applied to Bates. We reverse the district court’s denial of preliminary injunctive relief and direct that a preliminary injunction be entered.”

Jonathan Scruggs of the ADF, who argued the case for Bates, said, “Jessica is a caring mom of five who is now free to adopt after Oregon officials excluded her because of her common-sense belief that a girl cannot become a boy or vice versa.”

Photo: top, Credit: Alliance Defending Freedom