There are new developments in the case of New Hope Family Services, the Syracuse-based Christian adoption and foster care agency that the State of New York is trying to shut down because it only places children “with couples consisting of a mother and father committed to each other in marriage.”
While two federal courts have already found in New Hope’s favor on First Amendment grounds, its attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have reported that the state has served threatening demands for information upon the organization. Those demands were allegedly based on a complaint from someone who never even applied for adoption services from New Hope. In response to those demands, ADF has filed a new lawsuit, New Hope Family Services v. James, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
According to ADF, New Hope has placed more than 1,000 children in permanent homes and has never failed to secure a permanent home for any child entrusted to it. The organization is entirely private and receives no government funding.
ADF Senior Counsel Roger Brooks commented, “‘What is happening to New Hope Family Services is part of a disturbing trend from Alaska and Washington to Colorado and New York: Activists are weaponizing the legal system to ruin those who simply disagree with them. We have filed this lawsuit to put a stop to state officials’ illegal and indefensible harassment of New Hope, which only wishes to continue serving New York families as it has for more than 50 years.’”
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms thanks both New Hope and ADF for their faithful services to the Lord and prays for a swift and just court decision that will allow New Hope to continue helping children and families.