Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB 3859, shielding faith-based child welfare providers that refuse LGBTQ placements

On June 15, 2017, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3859 into law, enacting Human Resources Code Chapter 45, "Protection of Rights of Conscience for Child Welfare Services Providers," passed by the 85th Texas Legislature and effective September 1, 2017. The statute bars the state and any government-contracted child-placement entity from taking licensing, contracting, or funding action against a child welfare services provider that declines — citing "sincerely held religious beliefs" — to provide, facilitate, or refer services, including placement decisions, contraception or abortion referrals, or contracts inconsistent with those beliefs; a declining provider need only refer the applicant to a different provider.

The law explicitly carves out race, ethnicity, and national-origin discrimination as still prohibited under Section 45.009(f), but contains no equivalent carve-out for sexual orientation or gender identity. The Texas Tribune reported that opponents — including the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the Human Rights Campaign — argued during debate that the bill permits state-funded, state-licensed faith-based foster and adoption agencies to refuse placement with same-sex couples, LGBTQ individuals, and people of different faiths, while proponents, including the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, said the law lets faith-based providers keep serving children without abandoning their religious teachings. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said Texas legislators "used religion as a weapon." HB 3859 was among the earliest state enactments of this religious-refusal shield model for publicly funded child welfare systems, a mechanism later repeated in other states including Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, and Tennessee.