A bill that would protect parents and guardians seeking to adopt or foster children and raise them based on their biological sex has been introduced by Republican Sens. Jim Banks of Indiana and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

The “SAFE Home Act” amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to disqualify states from federal funding if they discriminate against “parents or guardians who oppose medical, surgical, pharmacological, psychological treatment, or clothing and social changes related to affirming the subjective claims of gender identity expressed by any minor” if the claimed identity is inconsistent with the child’s biological sex.

The law would allow those who experience discrimination based on such beliefs to sue the Department of Health and Human Services.

The bill will be introduced in the House by Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming.

“The government has no business punishing parents for protecting their kids from radical gender ideology,” Banks stated in a press release. “My bill ensures that states respecting parental rights aren’t strong-armed into embracing dangerous social experiments.”

Cotton says the bill advocates for parental rights over government control.

“If you don’t let your kid ‘transition’ to the opposite sex, certain state governments will help remove them from your custody,” Cotton said. “It sounds like dystopian science fiction, but it’s happening in the United States of America. Our bill would take funding away from states that abuse their power by taking away parents’ rights simply for opposing radical gender experiments.”

Banks had first introduced the bill during the Biden administration after the Department of Health and Human Services drafted a rule in 2023 that requires state and tribal foster care agencies to place children in foster care into homes that affirm their gender identify or sexual orientation. The bill did not succeed.

Recently, the states of Kentucky, Arkansas and Montana have moved to protect adoptive and foster parents in cases like this. In April, the Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto to pass the Adoptive Conscience Act, which bars the Kansas Department for Children and Families from implementing policies that force a person “to affirm, accept or support any governmental policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that may conflict with the person’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.” A candidate’s religious or moral beliefs cannot be examined to determine whether a child will be adopted or given custody to a candidate.

Arkansas passed the Keep Kids First Act which protects foster care and adoption providers and parents. The measure prohibits from state and local government officials from discriminating against candidates based on religious and moral beliefs.

On May 1, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill that protects families and faith-based organizations involved in adoption and foster care from discrimination based on their beliefs about sexuality.

Reacting to the Montana bill’s signing, Greg Chafuen, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, acknowledges the reality that religious people are largely impacted by rules that discriminate against those who do not adhere to gender ideology.  

“Every child deserves a loving home that can provide them stability and opportunities to grow,” Chafuen said. “The sad reality is that in some states, the government can discriminate against people of faith, allowing vulnerable children to suffer.”

The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System reported that nearly 109,000 of the 368,000 children in foster care were “waiting to be adopted” in the U.S. during fiscal year 2022.

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