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.
The moral and political battles among those who believe the government should not control a pregnant person’s body and those who believe abortion should not be considered an inalienable right have blurred the lines between religious and governmental wills.
Many faith-based organizations opposed to abortion are fighting for PEPFAR, an AIDS program that some Republicans now claim provides abortion services.
The leaders are writing in response to a letter sent to Congress in June by religious groups and legislators asserting that the funds for the program were financing family planning and reproductive health programs, including abortion.