In their initial complaint, plaintiffs noted that in addition to the text of the law itself, lawmakers made religious arguments while debating the bill ahead of its passage.
But those who know Tom Parker say his IVF concurring opinion was not simply a heartfelt expression of faith, but part of a strategy the chief justice has used to create legal precedent for conservative causes.
During a recent debate in the Missouri Senate over a proposal to create rape and incest exemptions to Missouri’s abortion ban, one lawmaker argued against such exceptions by defaming God.
Justice Parker sprinkled his legal opinion with a litany of religious sources, from classic Christian theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin, to a modern conservative Christian manifesto, the Manhattan Declaration, that opposes “anti-life” measures.