Leaked draft indicates Roe could be overturned

WASHINGTON—When Politico published a leaked draft opinion by Associate Justice Samuel Alito indicating a majority on the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide, religious leaders reacted quickly to the news.

In a news release, the Supreme Court confirmed the draft opinion is “authentic,” but “it does not represent a decision by the court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case” of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Chief Justice John Roberts described the leak as a “serious and egregious breach” of the trust of the high court. Roberts said he has ordered the marshal of the Supreme Court to begin an investigation into the source of the leak.

Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., called the leak “dirty pool” and “horribly unethical.”

“There hasn’t been a breach of the court’s prized confidentiality and protocol like this in any recent memory, probably in all of American history, even the history of the Supreme Court,” Mohler said on his “The Briefing” podcast.

However, if the draft opinion reflects the court’s final ruling, Mohler called it “the greatest pro-life victory of the last half-century.”

“And when the Supreme Court hands down its ruling in coming weeks, the defenders of life dare to hope that this is indeed the court’s ruling, and, oh Lord, let us pray, may it be true,” he concluded.

‘Love, serve and support women and families’

Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton, senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala., said: “Christians have sought the end of Roe for nearly 50 years. We must pray now for the resolve of the Court to cement its reversal. At the same time, the church must stand ready to love, serve and support women and families in need.

“Let us thank God for the possibility of seeing the specter of this unjust ruling removed from our nation forever. And let us prepare for the next phase of pro-life ministry.”

J.D. Greear, past president of the SBC and pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., posted a message on his website to Christians praying for an end to abortion, saying that their work was not over.

Greear offered a prayer, which reads in part: “I pray that the people of Christ will join with the incredible work of pregnancy support services all throughout this country. I pray that the people of Christ will take up the painful and beautiful work of fostering and adopting, saying yes to children who have only known society’s no. I pray that the people of Christ will continue loving women in crisis, drawing them in rather than casting them out.”

‘Make abortion unnecessary and unthinkable’

Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, described it as “a breathtaking development in every sense of the phrase.”

“Assuming it truly remains a majority opinion—which could still change—it means we are one step closer to ending the … abortion framework that has taken more than 60 million innocent lives, fractured families, marginalized mothers and harmed this nation for nearly 50 years,” he said.

“At the same time, we must avoid losing sight of mothers who are in a cycle of fear or maybe even in crisis at this moment,” Leatherwood added. “Our words in this moment should not be ones of mere celebration, but also of care. Our care must alleviate their fears and show that the welfare of mother and child do not have to be pitted against one another.”

Elizabeth Graham, the ERLC’s vice president of operations and life initiatives, said: “It is not enough to make abortion illegal; we must work to make abortion unnecessary and unthinkable. This means we must address the underlying reasons why a woman believes she has no other option but to choose abortion. So regardless of what the court decides, I am hopeful the church will continue serving abortion vulnerable women, as it’s done for many years.”

Chelsea Sobolik, the ERLC’s director of public policy, said: “If the disastrous precedents … are indeed overturned, and they should be, there will be growing numbers of vulnerable women and children in need of care and support. The church must continue to stand on the frontlines of caring for women and children.”

Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said: “Evangelical commitment to protecting the unborn stems from our deep understanding that God created human beings in his image and that every human life from conception to death has inestimable worth. If the Dobbs decision remains unchanged, we will celebrate that citizens will have greater opportunity to engage in creating policies that impact women and children.

“We also recognize that after this decision, vulnerable women and children will need a lot of support. Churches should be ready to help.”

Religious freedom and reproductive freedom

Not all faith leaders applauded the prospect of Roe’s reversal. Rabbi Jack Moline, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said: “A ruling stripping access to essential reproductive care would betray the constitutional promise of true religious freedom, undermining the rights of people of all faiths and none to make health care decisions rooted in their own values—not those of their legislators.”

Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, tweeted: “I am in shock. This is what it feels like to have rights taken away. We are living through a regressive period and it is terrifying.”

ReGay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church, said: “Now—before this outrageous opinion becomes law—we must make our Christian witness to the dignity of every human being by insisting that we support the right to safe and legal reproductive health care because our faith in a compassionate God requires us to do so.”

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said: “The foundational principle of separation of church and state safeguards our right to live and believe as we choose. Our laws do not allow anyone to use their religious beliefs to harm others. Allowing one person’s religious beliefs to dictate another’s personal medical decisions is the very definition of harm. We’ll say it again: Reproductive freedom is religious freedom.”

Compiled from reports by Tom Strode of Baptist Press and Emily McFarlan Miller of Religion News Service, with additional reporting by Managing Editor Ken Camp of the Baptist Standard.