Story highlights Critics say proposed law opens door for LGBT discrimination

Supporters say faith-based agencies need legal protections to keep offering child welfare services

(CNN) Texas lawmakers are poised to vote on a bill that would allow adoption agencies to turn away potential parents they find objectionable on religious grounds.

Opponents say the proposed law would allow faith-based agencies to discriminate against potential parents who are gay, single or of a religion that members of the adoption agency find objectionable.

The bill's author insists it heads off any potential discrimination by mandating that alternatives be made available for potential parents who are rejected by faith-based providers.

Called the "Freedom to Serve Children Act," Texas' House Bill 3859 extends religious liberty protections to providers within Texas' child welfare system, allowing them to decline services to individuals based on "the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs." The vote on the bill was originally planned for Saturday but has been rescheduled for Monday.

The Texas bill also includes provisions that let adoption and foster care agencies refuse to provide or facilitate abortion services and contraception to teens under their care. Child welfare providers can also require children under their care to receive a religious education, including putting them in religious schools.

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