But civil rights groups quickly rebuked the move, which came on the first day of National Adoption Month, calling it an attack on the LGBTQ community.

The proposed rule, which is still subject to a public comment period and will likely be challenged in court, strips out language specifically barring against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in favor of prohibiting discrimination to potential grant recipients “to the extent doing so is prohibited by federal statute” or Supreme Court rulings.

Sexual orientation and gender identity are not protected under federal anti-discrimination laws, but would be under a bill passed by the House earlier this year called the Equality Act.

"Under the proposed HHS rule, faith-based adoption providers will no longer have to choose between abandoning their faith or abandoning homeless children because the government disapproves of their views on marriage," said Tony Perkins, leader of the Family Research Council.

HHS cited a more streamlined approval process, arguing the new language “makes compliance more predictable and simpler” and relieves regulatory burdens, in accordance with an executive order issued by Trump early in his presidency.

LGBT rights groups decried the wide-ranging implications of the rule as proposed.

The new rule “would permit discrimination against LGBTQ people, religious minorities, and women in programs related to foster care, adoption, HIV and STI prevention, youth homelessness, refugee resettlement, elder care programs and more,” said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Evangelical groups have asserted the Obama-era rule threatened to choke off providers willing to help needy children but who refuse to contradict their religious beliefs.

That line of argument is included in a notice of proposed rulemaking, issued Friday, which claims that the current regulation could "reduce the effectiveness of programs funded by federal grants by reducing the number of entities available to provide services under these programs."

As it stands currently, religious groups wishing to apply for HHS grants must request a waiver from the Obama regulation.

"Religious liberty is not a license to discriminate," the American Civil Liberties Union said in a tweet slamming the proposed rule. "The needs of children in our foster care system must come first."

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, whose committee approved the Equality Act earlier this year on its way to the House floor, said in a statement that it was "unconscionable that the Trump Administration would allow discrimination with taxpayer funds in critical areas," pointing to an instance in South Carolina earlier this year when a group that had received an HHS waiver turned away a same sex couple looking to become foster parents.

Nadler also issued a call for the GOP-controlled Senate to take up the Equality Act, a move that is highly unlikely.