UPDATE: Tennessee court rules against Jewish couple who tried to adopt from Greeneville agency

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee judges have dismissed a lawsuit filed by a couple who alleged that a state-sponsored Christian adoption agency refused to help them because they are Jewish.

The lawsuit challenged a 2020 state law that installed legal protections for private adoption agencies to reject state-funded placement of children to parents based on religious beliefs. The challenge by Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram said Holston United Methodist Home for Children in Greeneville barred them from taking state-mandated foster-parent training and denied a home-study certification while they attempted to adopt a child last year.

The panel’s 2-1 decision last week centered on legal standing, including that the couple has since fostered a child. An appeal is expected.

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