Fulton v. City Of Philadelphia

141 S.Ct. 1868 (2021)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Catholic Social Services (P) is a foster care agency in Philadelphia. The City (D) stopped referring children to P upon discovering that the agency would not certify same-sex couples to be foster parents due to its religious beliefs about marriage. D will renew its foster care contract only if P agrees to certify same-sex couples. The Catholic Church has served the needy children of Philadelphia for over two centuries. In 1798, a priest in the City organized an association to care for orphans whose parents had died in a yellow fever epidemic. The Church established the Catholic Children’s Bureau to place children in foster homes. P continues that mission today. D's foster care system depends on cooperation between D and private foster agencies. D enters standard annual contracts with private foster agencies to place children with foster families. Pennsylvania law gives the authority to certify foster families to state-licensed foster agencies like P. Before certifying a family, an agency must conduct a home study during which it considers statutory criteria including the family’s “ability to provide care, nurturing and supervision to children,” “existing family relationships,” and ability “to work in partnership” with a foster agency. The agency must decide whether to “approve, disapprove or provisionally approve the foster family.” P believes that “marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman.” P will not certify unmarried couples-regardless of their sexual orientation-or same-sex married couples. P does not object to certifying gay or lesbian individuals as single foster parents or to placing gay and lesbian children. No same-sex couple has ever sought certification from P. If one did, P would direct the couple to one of the more than 20 other agencies in the City, all of which currently certify same-sex couples. For over 50 years, P successfully contracted with D to provide foster care services while holding to these beliefs. D informed P that it would no longer refer any children to P because of P's refusal to certify same-sex couples. P filed suit against Ds. P alleged that the referral freeze violated the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. P sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The court concluded that the contractual non-discrimination requirement and the Fair Practices Ordinance were neutral and generally applicable and that the free exercise claim was therefore unlikely to succeed. On appeal, it was held that the free speech claims were unlikely to succeed because P performed certifications as part of a government program. The court concluded that the new contractual terms were a neutral and generally applicable policy. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.