By Alexandra McPhee, CWA’s Director of Government Relations
Working as a judicial law clerk for the Supreme Court of Virginia remains one of the greatest experiences of my personal and professional life. I had the privilege to work under the tutelage of Justice D. Arthur Kelsey and learned immensely from his wealth of experience. I especially enjoyed the fellowship and the opportunity to learn with my co-clerks, who were women deeply committed to their faith and to their clerkship duties.
I thought of them as I processed the news of the unethical leak of the Dobbs decision at the United States Supreme Court this week. I remember the great weight I felt as a clerk for the responsibility that I and all judicial employees had to protect confidentiality within the court. Throughout my clerkship and for a period after it, the court set the high expectation to refrain from behaving in any manner that undermined public perception of the court’s impartiality. That included disclosure of any nonpublic information or internal deliberations. This is crucial to the proper administration of justice.
It saddens me that the recent events brought U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to a point of referring to a “betrayal” within the Court. He is right, of course. It is inexcusable. The leaker accomplished absolutely nothing. He or she hurts their cause and the institution of the Court.
Maybe this person thought that the benefit of fleeting press coverage outweighed the cost of long-term broken trust. Worse yet, perhaps they sought to intimidate the very justices and institution they serve. As result, the American people are being thrust into unfair speculation and innuendo that have the potential to undermine justice for years to come.
That is not to take anything away from this important decision that looks like it will go the right way, that is, according to proper constitutional standards. Abortion is a tragedy every time. The judicial stranglehold on pro-life legislation has enabled the destruction of more than 62 million unborn lives since the Court decision in Roe v. Wade that erroneously created a constitutional right to abortion.
That is why it is time for Roe to go. Its reversal will once again give proper meaning to the words engraved above the Court’s front entrance: “Equal Justice Under Law.”
One of the unofficial slogans at Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the Book of Esther’s use of “for such a time as this.” It was a call for Queen Esther to consider whether she had been placed in that specific place and time to bring about the change that could save her people. She received the prompt in circumstances where her obedience meant risking her life, much less her livelihood.
We believe the Lord has given us the same prompt today regarding deliverance for the unborn. Women like CWA founder Beverly LaHaye—who took on the challenge to answer God’s call and speak for the unborn—know that there is a price to pay. The hundreds of thousands of conservative women across this country who support us today understand the risk of speaking truth in today’s day and age. They understand that this week’s breach of trust is disheartening, but they are resolute. They have worked for such a time as this.
Nothing can interrupt the divine plan for justice for the unborn or the women that the Lord is willing to use to see that end.
