Can you spank your children and be a foster parent? No, says the Massachussets Supreme Judicial court.
When Melanie and Greg Magazu decided to open their family to foster children, they say the social worker who inspected their home was impressed. The couple had two young daughters, and Melanie used to be in foster care herself.
But the Fitchburg, Massachussets couple says the situation changed when they acknowledged that they spank their kids as a form of discipline, in line with their interpretation of the Bible. They said they would refrain from using corporal punishment on foster children in their care, but refused to stop spanking their own children.
The Department of Children and Families rejected their application in 2013, citing “clinical policy” to keep foster children out of homes where corporal punishment was used. Claiming religious discrimination, the Magazus sued.
The state’s highest court unanimously ruled in favor of the agency, claiming it was prioritizing the state’s interest in protecting children in foster care.
At the heart of the case are religious liberties on one hand and a desire to protect children who may already have suffered physical abuse from experiencing additional trauma on the other.
For its part, the Massachusetts high court has ruled it is legal for parents to spank their own children. Roughly two-thirds of Americans polled say they agree that an occasional spanking can be an appropriate form of discipline – a number that’s been consistent since the 1990s.