Press Release  STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION IN FULTON CASE

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court decision in the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case:

“There are thousands of LGBTQ+ couples across the country seeking to provide love and support for vulnerable children in foster care. These children deserve every opportunity available to be placed with capable and loving parents, and foster parents and young people alike deserve protection against discrimination in our child welfare system. While we are disappointed with the Court’s decision today regarding Philadelphia’s foster care system, LGBTQ+ couples seeking to foster children here in Massachusetts should know that they continue to benefit from our state’s protections against discrimination.”

In August 2020, AG Healey led 23 attorneys general in filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the City of Philadelphia’s nondiscrimination law and the right of LGBTQ+ couples to be foster parents. The brief argued that Philadelphia is entitled to require its own publicly contracted foster care agencies to follow the City’s nondiscrimination law and consider all qualified families seeking to care for children in need, without regard to prospective foster parents’ race, religion, sexual orientation, or other factors unrelated to their parenting abilities.

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