Donald Trump and Amy Coney Barrett, AFP photo by Brendan Smialowski. Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s first week as an active Supreme Court justice began on Nov. 2 and almost immediately included a case that could test her credentials as a religious conservative. On the surface, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia , which was argued in front of the court on Nov. 4 , concerns whether the city can require organizations it partners with to accept same-sex couples as foster parents. But underneath are questions about how Barrett and her fellow justices will deal with a decades-old Supreme Court ruling that could have wider implications for religious liberty cases. Foster care The case in front of the justices concerns how Philadelphia partners with private organizations – both religious and secular – to find homes for children in foster care. In 2018, Philadelphia learned that two organizations, Catholic Social Services and Bethany Christian Services, had religiously motivated policies against placing children with same-sex couples in violation of Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance . Philadelphia stopped sending foster care placement requests to these organizations as a result, prompting Catholic Social Services to sue. Lawyers for Catholic Social Services argue that Philadelphia’s response violates […]
