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Constitutional Law Keyed to Chemerinsky
Fulton v. City of Philadelphia
Citation:
593 U.S. 105 (2021)Facts
Catholic Social Services (CSS) had contracted with the City of Philadelphia for over 50 years to provide foster care services. In 2018, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article revealing that CSS would not certify same-sex couples as foster parents due to its religious beliefs about marriage. The City subsequently informed CSS that it would no longer refer children to the agency unless CSS agreed to certify same-sex couples, citing the non-discrimination provision in the foster care contract and the City’s Fair Practices Ordinance. CSS maintained that certifying same-sex couples would violate its religious beliefs about marriage being between a man and a woman. The City’s actions effectively prevented CSS from serving as a foster care agency, despite its long history of service and the fact that no same-sex couple had ever actually approached CSS seeking certification.
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