Prospective foster parents or providers could not be disqualified because of their “sincerely held moral and religious beliefs” concerning gender identity and sexual orientation, under a bill headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk.
LGBTQ advocates fear the bill, Senate File 473, would allow discrimination against youth in foster care, while supporters say the measure helps expand the pool of eligible foster parents by protecting religious freedom.
The Senate first passed the bill in 2025 but took it up again to OK the House’s changes, passing it again in a 28-16 party-line vote Tuesday, April 21.
The House voted 58-34 to pass the bill on Monday. Republican Reps. Chad Behn of Boone, Michael Bergan of Dorchester, Ann Meyer of Fort Dodge and Matthew Rinker of Burlington broke party lines to vote against the bill.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services would be barred from requiring a licensed foster parent or provider affirm, accept or support a policy related to sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with their “sincerely held moral and religious beliefs.”
“It’s about children who need families and ensuring that we do not exclude qualified people who are willing to provide those families,” said Rep. Craig Williams, R-Manning. “Iowa has a shortage of foster and adoptive parents. That’s not a partisan issue. It’s simply a fact. Every additional qualified family willing to open their home helps children who are waiting in the system for stability, safety and love.”
If the proposed protections are violated, a current or future foster parent could sue and recover their attorney fees and court costs. The attorney general could also take legal action to enforce the new rules.
Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, D-Hiawatha, said the bill puts the burden on a child to advocate to the state that they do not wish to be placed in a certain environment.
“Either, one, this is a messaging bill which fundamentally changes nothing, or two, this bill is designed to bring people into the foster care system who choose to impose their beliefs through coercion upon the children in the foster care system in a manner that supersedes the rights and beliefs of the foster child,” Wichtendahl said.
Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, said the bill sets a dangerous precedent of bending the system toward the needs of caregivers.
“Foster care is meant to be temporary,” Donahue said. “Foster parents are meant to be caregivers, not replacements, but in this bill it undermines that principle. It shifts the focus away from families, away from the reunification and instead opens the door for foster placements to become something else entirely. It weakens the role of biological parents, it chips away at their rights and it does so with taxpayer dollars.”
LGBTQ advocates oppose change protecting religious providers
Republicans amended the bill to require Iowa HHS adopt rules ensuring that religious organizations cannot be required to provide services in a manner that is “inconsistent” with a group’s religious beliefs.
One Iowa Executive Director Max Mowitz condemned the amendment and called on Reynolds to reject the change. The statewide LGBTQ advocacy group contends it allows religious foster care providers to deny otherwise qualified foster parents because of their identity.
“The Iowa Legislature’s continued march toward exclusionary policies made in smoke-filled back rooms is disappointing but in no way surprising,” Mowitz said in a statement. “Here they have taken a bill that would’ve hurt LGBTQ youth and made it even more harmful by including the ability for religious foster care providers to deny applicants.
“The original bill was touted as a way to increase religious freedom for foster parents, but they have undermined even that talking point by including language that would disallow parents who have different religious views from the providers.”
The change also extends the bill’s protections to kinship caregivers as well as adoption licensees.
Lawmakers debate whether bill prioritizes children in placement decisions
The amended bill clarifies it does not block HHS from determining the child’s best interests in foster care and adoption placement decisions, but Democrats said the legislation inherently diminishes their needs as a priority.
Iowa HHS could still take into account the moral or religious beliefs related to LGBTQ topics of a child or the child’s family of origin when determining placement.
“This bill does not assert or apply a single religious belief on any applicant or placement of a child within the system,” said Sen. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, who proposed the bill. “It ensures Iowa HHS does not adopt future policy that may discriminate against certain individuals solely based on their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.”
Rep. Angel Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, said the bill would allow children who have experienced traumatic events into another environment that does not meet their needs.
“Whether you are agnostic, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, atheist, Christian or anything else, your belief system is critical to your very being,” Ramirez said. “To many children in the foster care system, your belief systems can carry you through the trauma. This bill says to the children in the foster care system, ‘Your belief systems don’t matter as much as your foster parents.'”
Williams said Iowa should widen the door for qualified people to become foster parents.
“This bill protects religious liberty as the constitution and our civil rights laws intend, preserves the state’s ability to make placement decisions in the best interest of the child and expands the number of families willing to help children in need,” he said.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X at @marissajpayne.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa bill bars rejecting foster parents over religious beliefs
Reporting by Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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