Child advocacy groups come out against Michigan bill allowing faith-based adoption agencies to refuse gay couples

Numerous child advocacy groups Thursday condemned a set of Michigan bills that would allow faith-based adoption agencies to refuse to serve prospective parents on religious grounds. 

The three-bill package, which passed the state House of Representatives last month, has been criticized as a vehicle that would allow adoption agencies to turn away LGBT couples.

“Playing politics with the lives of the more than 13,000 children currently in foster care in Michigan is beyond shameful,” said Ellen Kahn, director of the Human Right's Campaign's (HRC) Children, Youth and Families Program, in a statement Wednesday. “These bills are undeniably wrong because they are contrary to our responsibility to find permanent families and safe, loving homes for every child. Michigan Senators should vote down these bills, and Governor Snyder should veto them if they reach his desk.” 

HRC, the largest LGBT rights organization in the U.S., was joined on Thursday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the Child Welfare League of America, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Education Association, which jointly condemned the bills in a statement.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has been "elusive about whether he will sign or veto the bills if they are approved by the full Senate," BuzzFeed reported.