LANSING —  Adoption agencies could deny the placement of children, under the guardianship of new parents for religious or moral reasons, if the State House passes a new bill on adoption next week.

The bill insinuates that the State cannot withhold funding from an adoption agency for not facilitating, or allowing an adoption “that violates its written religious or moral convictions or policies.”

Similar legislation has been passed in North Dakota.

“There are some misnomers out there about what this is all about,” the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Kenneth Kurtz, R-Coldwater, told the Detroit Free Press. “I think this is fair and appropriate. Faith-based agencies are still avenues that work, and they operate based on moral and religious beliefs.”

Shelli Weisberg, legislative liaison for the ACLU, said: “We don’t argue that faith-based agencies have their own rules, but they shouldn’t be able to discriminate if they receive State money.”

Michigan currently has 1,400 children in the adoption system.