Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is a Christian right-wing legal group founded in 1993, dedicated to implementing conservative values within the United States government and education system.
Their current priorities consist of “protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, marriage and family, and parental rights,” according to their website.
They’ve contributed to 15 Supreme Court rulings that favor conservative policy, with an 80 percent win rate. Furthermore, they have allied with over 2,600 attorneys and have nearly 5,000 network attorneys.
ADF was highly involved in the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, claiming that by being pro-life, they are protecting the sanctity of life.
They defended their claim, stating that the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade “fundamentally misread the Constitution”, and that there is “nothing in the text, history, or tradition of the U.S. Constitution that supports the right to take an innocent life.”
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which is the case that overturned Roe, involved the Mississippi legislature that was directly drafted by members of ADF. The Gestational Age Act prohibits abortion after 15 weeks, except in an instance where the life of the mother would be in danger.
This act made it through Mississippi’s House of Representatives, both chambers of the legislature, and was signed by the state’s governor, Phil Bryant in March 2018. Soon after the bill was passed, Jackson Women’s Health organization sued the state.
Mississippi asked the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to review the case, and they agreed. In May of 2022, SCOTUS’ decision was leaked, and if the leak came to fruition, the national right to abortion would be revoked.
ADF was highly involved in the SCOTUS hearing of Dobbs, as several individuals from the organization, such as Former ADF client and pregnancy center director Heidi Matzke, and Senior Counselors Denise Harle and Erin Hawley, all testified in favor of Roe being overturned.
On their website, ADF said they “rejoice” in the “victory” of Dobbs, and that it is a “testimony to God’s faithfulness.” Furthermore, they state that the fight over abortion is not over, and that “now it is up to [ADF] to win over the hearts and minds of citizens to vote and legislate to protect life in their states.”
One of the ADF’s other main focuses is parental rights, which stems from the concerns they have regarding the public school system.
On their website, they go into depth about the definition and extent of parental rights, explaining how the family is a basic unit of society, and that the “government is not a co-parent with mothers and fathers.”
From their perspective, it is the responsibility of the parents and only the parents to make decisions they feel align with their family values and to make choices about what is appropriate for their child’s health and well-being.
Therefore, they feel that the inclusion of Critical Race Theory in the state curriculum is unnecessary and discriminatory, only fostering “racial hostility.” ADT informs parents that the education about these theories will “indoctrinate” their children “in politicized narratives about American history.’
ADT disagrees with any education regarding LGBTQ+ identities and different expressions of gender, saying that “no one is born in the wrong body” and that after puberty a person will learn to “come to accept their sex.”
The ADT places a distinct emphasis on the “fundamental rights of parents”, and believes that the family is a basic unit of society, and without it, our culture would crumble.
ADT also emphasizes the importance of marriage, explaining that it’s the “inclusive and diverse” union between a man and woman, combining two halves of one whole. The organization feels that any same-sex matrimony is a “threat” to society. The union between two people of the same gender is conveyed as selfish, and solely to satisfy the “desires of the individual.”