The South Dakota Legislature on
Thursday approved a bill that allows taxpayer-funded adoption
agencies to refuse to place children with LGBT families based on
religious beliefs or moral convictions.
Senate Bill 149 states that “no
child-placement agency may be required to provide any service that
conflicts with, or provide any service under circumstances that
conflict with any sincerely-held religious belief or moral conviction
of the child-placement agency that shall be contained in a written
policy, statement of faith, or other document adhered to by a
child-placement agency.”
The measure easily cleared the House
(43-20) and Senate (22-12), both of which are controlled by
Republicans.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, called on Republican Governor
Dennis Daugaard to veto the bill. Last year, Daugaard vetoed a bill
(HB 1008) that prohibited transgender students from using the
bathroom of their choice.
“We implore Governor Daugaard to veto
this legislation. This proposal grants state-funded adoption agencies
a license to discriminate, harming children in needs of families by
rejecting a wide range qualified prospective parents including LGBTQ
parents and by acting against the best interest of LGBTQ youth in the
agency’s care,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Last
year, when Governor Daugaard vetoed HB 1008, he stood on the right
side of history and protected transgender children. He must do the
same now. This legislation puts discrimination ahead of the best
interests of more than a thousand children in South Dakota waiting
for a loving home.”
Daugaard has five days to either sign
or veto the bill; otherwise, it becomes law. A spokesman for the
governor told the
Washington
Blade that Daugaard has yet to decide on the measure.