Lawsuit alleging religious discrimination in Tennessee adoption law can proceed

A lawsuit filed by a Jewish couple alleging religious discrimination in Tennessee adoption law will now move forward to trial after the Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday declined to hear the state's appeal.

Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram initially sued Tennessee in 2021 over claims they were unconstitutionally discriminated against after a state-funded Christian adoption agency refused to work with them.

Gov. Bill Lee and General Assembly Republicans in 2020 established a law that allowed private adoption agencies to refuse to place a child with a family because of "religious or moral convictions," even if the private agency benefits from public funding. At the time, the law was criticized by some as an attempt to block LGBTQ+ families seeking to adopt.

The Rutan-Rams in 2021 sought to adopt a child from Florida and needed to complete foster parent training required by the state. The Holston United Methodist Home for Children, which the state Department of Children's Services partnered with to provide the training, was the only option in Knox County. The couple later alleged in their lawsuit Holston declined to work them and said it only works with adoptive parents that share Holston's "belief system."

The couple sued in 2022. The lawsuit was initially knocked down by a lower court panel, which argued the lawsuit was in part moot because DCS later approved the couple as foster parents. An appellate court last year overturned the initial ruling, and Thursday's Supreme Court order clears the way for the case to proceed to trial.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lawsuit from Tennessee Jewish couple over adoption law can proceed