Scott and Jane Woodruff are Christians living in Loudoun County, Virginia. In 2015 they adopted a daughter with medical conditions that require the couple to hire babysitters to help with her care for several hours each week. A new Virginia law passed in July forbids them from advertising for Christians as babysitters for their child, contrary to their wishes, and the Woodruffs are fighting back.
With the help from the Parental Rights Foundation (PRF), the Woodruffs are suing Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (AG) in his official capacity, as the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth, asking the court for a declaration that the new law substantially burdens their religious practice in violation of the Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act (VRFRA). They also want the court to issue an injunction prohibiting the AG and his agents and employees from enforcing the new law.
Earlier this year, the Virginia General Assembly passed an amendment to the state’s Human Rights Act that forbids taking religion into account when hiring a babysitter. It also prohibits parents from including this preference in their advertisements, according to allegations contained in the Woodruff’s Complaint filed in the Circuit Court of Richmond City, Virginia.
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