Fulton v. City of Philadelphia is one of the first cases of new Supreme Court appointee Amy Coney Barrett and one of the biggest cases of the Court's term.

The case could hand religious conservatives a major victory in a battle over whether the US Constitution protects the right to discriminate against LGBTQ people on religious grounds.

The justices are reviewing Philadelphia's decision to exclude Catholic Social Services (CSS), from its foster care system. The church agency has refused to abide by the city's non-discrimination policy.

CSS argues it has a First Amendment right to decline to certify same-sex couples for foster parenthood. This is based on the right to free exercise of religion, and the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on marriage.

Lori H. Windham, a senior counsel at the law firm representing the religious agency, says there are 28 other foster care agencies in Philadelphia. Three of the agencies have special expertise in serving the LGBTQ community. Windham argues that CSS "would help them to find a foster care agency with expertise in serving LGBTQ couples."

"But Philadelphia's government says that's not enough, and it won't allow any more foster kids to be placed with families who work with Catholic Social Services."

Philadelphia responded in its merits brief that "the Constitution does not grant CSS the right to dictate the terms on which it carries out the government's work," the city said.

"CSS lacks a constitutional right to demand that it be granted a government contract to perform a government function using government funds without complying with the same contractual obligation that every other [foster family care agency] must follow."

Fulton v. City of Philadelphia was likely to end in victory for the conservatives even before Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation gave them a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court.

With Barrett now on the Court, the religious freedom case is overwhelmingly likely to end in a significant defeat for LGBTQ equality.

Sources

• ABA Journal
• Vox
• ACLU

In Article VI, the Constitution of the United States requires that a federal officer "be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this Constitution." But as long as that condition is met, the Constitution proscribes questions about religion, stating that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Read more

Reportedly tapped by President Trump to replace the late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg, the 48-year-old jurist has only sat on the federal bench for three years, after being successfully nominated by Trump to the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

She's written more than 100 decisions and dissents, according to the Chicago Tribune. And while she maintains that her faith does not enter into her rulings on the law, Barrett twice joined with a minority of judges in dissenting opinions that favoured reconsidering rulings that struck down state restrictions on abortion rights.

One case involved an Indiana law that would have required that the parents be notified when minors seek consent for the procedure from the courts, while the other — also passed in Indiana, her home state — banned abortions for reasons related to gender, race or disability, and also required that fetal remains be buried or cremated.

Although the Hoosier State only appealed the decision regarding fetal remains, Barrett and the other dissenters addressed the law's other provisions, noting that "there is a difference between ‘I don't want a child' and ‘I want a child, but only a male,' or ‘I want only children whose genes predict success in life.'"

"Using abortion to promote eugenic goals is morally and prudentially debatable," the dissenters argued.

Both of those cases later wound up before the Supreme Court, which reinstated Indiana's regulation of fetal remains and ordered a reconsideration of its parental-notification law.

The hot-button abortion issue also featured prominently during Barrett's confirmation hearing for her seat on the 7th Circuit, which reviews rulings from federal district courts in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana.

Liberal Democratic senators grilled Barrett — whose children include two adopted from Haiti and one with Down syndrome — on how her religious beliefs might affect her rulings, citing an article she co-wrote in 1998 for the Marquette Law Review that said the Catholic Church's "prohibitions against abortion and euthanasia (properly defined) are absolute."

"The dogma lives loudly within you, and that's of concern when you come to big issues that people have fought for for years in this country," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) told Barrett.

But when Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked when it would be "proper for a judge to put their religious views above applying the law," Barrett answered, "Never."

"It's never appropriate for a judge to impose that judge's personal convictions, whether they derive from faith or anywhere else, on the law," she added.

Following the hearing, Barrett was confirmed by the Senate in a near-party-line vote, 55-43.

But her reported membership in People of Praise, an ecumenical Christian community, has fueled Democrats' doubts. The group was one of many established in the wake of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s to encourage the Catholic laity to follow the early Christians and form small communities for prayer and mutual support.

Amy Coney Barrett facts

• Born one of seven children in Louisiana, she is the 48-year-old mother of seven kids, including two adopted children from Haiti and a child with Down syndrome
• Strong Catholic faith and a member of the "People of Praise" charismatic community
• A favourite of originalists and social conservatives, she clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia
• Has written more than 100 decisions and dissents since joining the federal bench
• Criticized Chief Justice John Roberts' decision to save Obamacare individual mandate in 2017
• Twice joined in dissenting opinions that favoured reconsidering rulings that struck down state restrictions on abortion rights
• Supported a challenge to federal and state laws that bar people convicted of felonies from owning firearms
• Sided with the Trump administration in a case that challenged his policy of denying immigrants permanent residency if they would need too many taxpayer-funded benefits, including welfare, food stamps or Medicaid

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Judge Amy Coney Barrett is reportedly the most likely presidential nominee for the role.

Appointed a federal judge in 2017, Barrett was a professor at Notre Dame law school until her nomination was confirmed.

As a nominee to the federal bench, Barrett was questioned by Democratic senators on how her Catholic faith would influence her decisions as a judge on cases of abortion and same-sex marriage.

During confirmation hearings, Senator Diane Feinstein said "the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that's of concern."

"You're controversial because many of us that have lived our lives as women really recognize the value of finally being able to control our reproductive systems."

Barrett insisted she would uphold the law of the land.

Pro-life groups hailed Barrett's 2017 appointment to the bench.

Barrett is reportedly a member of the People of Praise charismatic community, which was criticized as a "cult" during her 2017 confirmation hearings.

Bishop Peter Smith said in 2018 there is nothing unusual about the group.

"We're a lay movement in the Church," Smith explained. "There are plenty of these. We continue to try and live out life and our calling as Catholics, as baptized Christians, in this particular way, as other people do in other callings or ways that God may lead them into the Church."

The country's wait for Trump's decision about the new US Supreme Court nominee may not be long.

".@GOP We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!" Trump tweeted on Saturday.

Choosing her replacement in a hurry is the opposite of what Ginsburg wanted.

"My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." NPR reported, hinting Ginsburg wanted her seat left vacant until 2025 if Trump is re-elected in November.

Ginsburg was the architect of the legal fight for women's rights in the 1970s, subsequently serving 27 years on the nation's highest court.

Former President George W. Bush acknowledged Ginsburg "dedicated many of her 87 remarkable years to the pursuit of justice and equality, and she inspired more than one generation of women and girls..."

Hillary Clinton also tweeted: "Justice Ginsburg paved the way for so many women, including me. There will never be another like her. Thank you RBG."

Whether he selects Barrett, Trump's Supreme Court nomination has become a matter of political controversy.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged a Trump nominee will be voted on for confirmation by the Senate, despite there being only seven weeks until the election.

Democratic leaders are pushing back, noting McConnell's refusal to consider President Obama's Supreme Court nominee seven months before the 2016 presidential contest.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Christian Post
• NPR
• The Australian
• Image: Mediaite