Alliance Defending Freedom: One of the Most Influential Conservative Legal Powerhouses in the US

A Relatively Under-The-Radar Status Despite Its High-Powered Influence

The Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is widely regarded as one of the most powerful legal and political organizations currently operating in the United States. The group has been involved in numerous high-profile cases, including advocating for the banning of abortion nationwide and supporting restrictions on access to contraceptives. It has also been successful in maintaining a relatively low profile among average Americans.

A Leading Voice for Religious Freedom, Free Speech, and Sanctity of Life

According to ADF Senior Counsel Jake Warner who spoke to the Arizona Daily Star, “We are the world’s largest legal ministry committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and marriage in the family.”

The ADF’s Staunch Opposition to Abortion and LGBT+ Rights

The ADF has been vocal in its opposition to abortion, LGBT+ rights, and same-sex marriage. It has actively argued cases that allow businesses to refuse service to gay customers. In addition, the group has been heavily involved in drafting conservative legislation designed to ban abortion access in three conservative states: Arkansas, Mississippi, and Utah.

The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America

The ADF, which employed now-House Speaker Mike Johnson, has been striving to become the “mainstream Christian rival” to the American Civil Liberties Union, according to New York Times reporters Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer, who mentioned the group heavily in their new book, The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America. Based on interviews with sources within the ADF, the authors contend that the group will not rest until abortion is banned in all 50 states.

Recruiting from Christian Law Schools and Conservative Churches

The ADF often recruits from Christian law schools such as Regent University in Virginia. It has also built an extensive network through conservative churches to practice messaging of the “whole worldview around gender, sexuality, and family reproduction,” according to Karen Seat, a religious history professor at the University of Arizona.

The Future of Conservative Christian Groups

As for what the future holds for the ADF, the group’s media relations manager Bernadette Tasy told the Arizona Daily Star that the group is currently involved in “analyzing the language and taking opportunities to educate the public” about the citizens’ initiative on Arizona’s November ballot to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Seat expects conservative Christian groups like the ADF to push policies and litigation dealing with transgender children in sports and spaces like school bathrooms, as well as general concerns about religious freedom. She anticipates that such groups will be very active through the 2024 general election season in Arizona. “It’s always abortion, it’s always anti-LGBT,” she said. “There is also this sense, though, that religious freedom is under assault in the country.”

Originally Post From https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/meet-the-arizona-based-christian-law-firm-working-to-ban-abortion-nationwide/article_26cd8e00-3e26-11ef-b8ca-13f400a0072c.html

Meet the Arizona based Christian law firm working to ban abortion nationwide