Jessica Bates, a single mother of five biological children living in Malheur County, filed her lawsuit in spring 2023. Bates said she wanted to adopt two foster kids under the age of 9, but her Christian beliefs on sex and gender conflicted with the ODHS requirements.

At the time, ODHS policy mandated that certified foster homes “respect, accept and support the race, ethnicity, cultural identities, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disabilities, spiritual beliefs and socioeconomic status of a child.”

Bates’ response to that policy is what doomed her application.

“I need to let you know I cannot support this behavior in a child,” she wrote. “I have no problem loving them and accepting them as they are, but I would not encourage them in this behavior. I believe God gives us our gender/sex and it’s not something we get to choose.”