In 2013, a new state regulation barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity against applicants for adoption services.
For five years after the regulation, New Hope practiced its "recusal-and-referral" policy of declining to match children with unmarried and same-sex couples while referring them to other agencies. The agency says it faced no objections to this policy, until the New York Office of Children and Family Services in 2018 ordered it to place children with unmarried and same-sex couples or be forced to close.
D'Agostino initially dismissed the lawsuit in May, saying New Hope had not shown any plausible constitutional claims. In July, however, the Second Circuit Appeals Court put a stay on the order and sent it back to the district court, instructing it to reconsider the merits of the motion for a preliminary injunction.
The appeals court said New Hope had made a "plausible claim" that its First Amendment religious and free speech rights were violated, and said the state's actions may have been "informed by hostility toward certain religious beliefs."
Roger Brooks, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, hailed the decision as "great news for children waiting to be adopted."
"Government officials have no business forcing faith-based providers to choose between speaking messages about marriage that contradict their religious convictions and closing their doors," he said in a statement.