Last week, lovers of life and liberty have great reason for concern, but also great reason to celebrate! The Supreme Court has given Americans two great wins on the life and religious liberty front.
Late Monday evening, May 2, 2022, Politico reported on a leaked SCOTUS opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturns Roe v. Wade. Eagle Forum stated in a press release regarding the document, “while Eagle Forum certainly does not applaud leaking Supreme Court decisions prior to release, if true, we wholeheartedly support the decision.”
Chief Justice Robert subsequently issued a statement confirming the document’s authenticity. He stated:
“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.
We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law. Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.
I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”
Some believe that the leak may be a blatant attempt to intimidate the Justices and lawmakers and to influence Court’s opinion. This leak and the Left’s response to it illustrate how firmly liberals believe that courts should write law, not simply interpret the Constitution.
For nearly fifty years, Roe v. Wade has been America’s great mistake. and justice Alito clearly explains in his opinion how Roe is unconstitutional and wholly erroneous. Yet, the anti-life movement cannot comprehend America without Roe. Protestors were seen outside the Court following Monday’s news and President Biden issued a statement reiterating his belief that women have a right to “choose.”
But abortion boils down to one thing: the destruction of a human life. In the leaked opinion, Justice Alito states, “that abortion is fundamentally different [than other rights,]” like contraception and marriage, “because it destroys…“fetal life” and what the law now before us describes as an “unborn human being.”’ This is incredibly strong and truthful language. We look forward to reading the final opinion.
Yet, the good news does not stop there. In a 9-0 decision authored by Justice Stephen Breyer in Shurtleff v. City of Boston, SCOTUS held that the City of Boston violated the First Amendment by denying a Christian group from flying their flag in front of City hall. The City allowed other groups to apply to fly a flag of their choice in place of the City of Boston flag, but denied the application to fly a Christian flag. The Court ruled that the flag-raising program did not constitute government speech and consequently the City’s denial to raise the Christin flag violated the First Amendment’s free speech clause. This unanimous decision was a decisive win for religious liberty!
It certainly has been a busy week in Washington! Eagle Forum is cautiously optimistic that the decision in Dobbs will remain, and we are thankful that the Court ruled in favor of religious liberty in Shurtleff! Eagle Forum will continue to provide up-to-date information on the happenings inside Washington, D.C. Be sure to sign up for our legislative action alerts so you do not miss out on an opportunity to work with us.
