When I asked evangelical leaders about why they supported Donald Trump, nearly all mentioned the 200 judges he appointed to the federal bench, including three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans have long made it a priority to stack the federal courts with lifetime appointees who will hand down conservative decisions for decades. Even if Republicans lose control of Congress or the White House, they know that the courts will thwart liberal policies.
On June 24, the court’s solid conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to abortion. Evangelicals in particular celebrated the decision as the culmination of years of activism. But they were not always so invested in the issue. After the Roe decision, the National Association of Evangelicals pointed out the “necessity for therapeutic abortions to safeguard the health or the life of the mother.” W.A. Criswell, the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas that I wrote about last time, said a child became an individual person only after being born, thus it was up to the mother to decide what was best. Abortion was seen as a “Catholic issue” by most evangelicals.
It took years for evangelicals like Jerry Falwell to become engaged in the fight over abortion rights. Singer-turned-activist Anita Bryant asked for Falwell’s help in her successful campaign in 1977 to repeal a Dade County ordinance in Florida that banned discrimination against gay people in housing and employment. Soon after, Falwell launched a national advertising blitz that highlighted three issues: gay people teaching in public schools, “abortion on demand,” and the spread of pornography. Falwell held rallies at state capitols to promote these issues, a movement that led to the creation of the Moral Majority in 1979. It aligned with the right-turn of the Republican Party and helped propel Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980.
Conservatives have a record of being disappointed at Republican presidents’ Supreme Court nominations. Reagan’s nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981 upset Falwell because she was seen as insufficiently conservative on abortion. George H.W. Bush nominated David Souter in 1990, who turned out to be well left of center on most issues. Even John Roberts, nominated as chief justice by George W. Bush in 2005, has proven to be too incremental for some activists. But Trump’s three justices were all carefully vetted by the conservative legal establishment to avoid any surprises. Evangelicals have reaped the benefits of the court’s rulings on abortion as well as “religious freedom” issues.