Bates said she was inspired to adopt after hearing a story on a Christian radio program of another single parent who adopted a child. Bates, whose husband died tragically in a car accident in 2017, has five children, ages 10 to 17. After hearing that radio program, Bates said she felt God was asking her to do what her Christian faith teaches: to help “orphans and widows in their affliction.”
In March 2022, Bates began the adoption process through the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), hoping to adopt a sibling group who were nine years old or younger (so they would be younger than her youngest child). When she began the process, she was unaware of a DHS rule that would require her to say she would “respect…and support” a hypothetical child’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.”
During her application and training process, she realized her faith would not allow her to meet some of the state’s expectations, like “celebrating diversity in all forms,” providing media, and allowing signage in her home that supports same-sex relationships and affirms lifestyles she considers sinful.
[You will be made to care, and you will be made to comply. Unbelievable. — Ed]
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