Michigan, St. Vincent Catholic Charities exploring settlement in gay adoption case

A fight over whether religious foster care and adoption agencies can decline to work with same-sex couples in Michigan could be headed toward a settlement two months after a key U.S. Supreme Court decision, according to a court filing. 

St. Vincent Catholic Charities and the state of Michigan asked Grand Rapids U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker Thursday for a pause in the case while they "attempt to resolve this matter without further litigation and motion practice." 

The two parties requested a 60-day pause for the discussions to take place. 

The request comes a little less than two months after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a Philadelphia Catholic foster agency that said its religious views prevent it from working with same-sex couples as foster parents. 

The group that represented Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, also is representing Michigan's St. Vincent Catholic Charities in the Michigan case.

Experts have said the Supreme Court's Philadelphia decision was narrowly tailored to that situation, but the Becket Fund said it was "good news" for St. Vincent's case. 

About four days after the decision, Jonker said the Supreme Court's opinion would "likely result in a decision providing meaningful, if not controlling, guidance for the parties and the court in this case." 

"It is now appropriate to assess the impact of the decision for this case," Jonker wrote on June 21. The appointee of former President George W. Bush set a status conference for the case Aug. 25 and asked the parties for an update by Friday.

The case involving St. Vincent stems from a March 2019 settlement in a lawsuit between the state and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented two gay couples who sued the state when they were referred elsewhere by St. Vincent and Bethany Christian Services for foster and adoption services. St. Vincent and Bethany are among several agencies the state uses to place foster children.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan's first gay chief legal officer, agreed to a settlement in the case shortly after taking office that required a change to state policy so that contracts with agencies that refused to help gay couples would be terminated. The settlement required the state Department of Health and Human Services to maintain non-discriminatory provisions in foster care and adoption agency contracts by ending state contracts with agencies if they discriminate against same-sex couples.

St. Vincent Catholic Charities challenged the policy in federal court, arguing it violated the group's First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion and free speech, among other protections. 

In a 2019 decision, Jonker alleged Nessel "targeted" St. Vincent  and granted the Catholic organization a preliminary injunction that halted the state from enforcing the new policy while the case was pending. The injunction remains in place. 

In his opinion, Jonker said Nessel was "at the very heart of the case" in part because of comments she made on the campaign trail in which she described supporters of the state’s prior policy as “hate mongers” and said she “could not justify using the state’s money” to defend “a law whose only purpose is discriminatory animus.”

eleblanc@detroitnews.com