A couple from Woburn, Massachusetts, Lydia and Heath Marvin, have lost their license to foster children after refusing to sign a Department of Children and Families (DCF) policy requiring foster parents to affirm a child’s LGBTQIA+ identity.
The Marvins, who have fostered eight children under the age of four since 2020, cited their Christian faith as the reason they could not comply with the policy.
“We will absolutely love and support any child in our home, but we simply can't agree to go against our Christian faith in this area,” Lydia Marvin said. DCF told the couple they must sign the form as is or lose their license. The Marvins appealed but were denied, and their case has become part of a broader federal lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom challenging the policy on free speech and religious liberty grounds.
The Trump administration sent a letter to DCF highlighting the case, calling the policy “deeply troubling” and a violation of First Amendment protections. Pro-life and religious liberty advocates argue the Marvins’ experience shows how foster parents can be penalized for holding sincerely held beliefs while providing loving homes to vulnerable children.
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