A Christian mother who says Oregon denied her the chance to adopt from foster care because of her beliefs about gender identity can continue the process under a settlement with the state.
Jessica Bates, a widowed mother of five, began seeking certification in March 2022. She completed foster care training but told officials she could not affirm a child’s gender transition or take a child to hormone injection appointments. Oregon denied her application that September, according to Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents her.
Bates told Fox News Digital that officials asked whether she would take a child placed in her care to those appointments.
“And that was kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back, because I absolutely would not be willing to do that,” she said.
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For Bates, the denial meant children who needed a home were losing a willing parent because she would not set aside her Christian convictions.
“It was hard being told you can’t adopt or help at all when you know that there were literally like a few thousand kids out there in the foster care system,” she said.
Her desire to adopt is personal. Bates’ husband was killed in a 2017 car crash. She said she and her children know the pain of losing someone they love, and she wants to care for children growing up without a parent.
ADF sued Oregon officials on Bates’ behalf in 2023. After a federal district court ruled against her, the organization appealed. In July 2025, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Bates to restart the adoption process while the lawsuit continued.
The settlement lets Bates keep pursuing foster care and adoption. It does not guarantee a placement, but it restores an opportunity the state had denied her.
“This settlement will allow me to continue in the process of looking to foster, to adopt,” Bates said.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
