Written by Sutherland Institute
June 24, 2022
SALT LAKE CITY June 24, 2022—Today the United States Supreme Court issued a long-awaited ruling in the controversial case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center.
Sutherland Institute believes this unprecedented moment – a court ruling previously leaked while in draft form, leading to threats upon the lives of justices and their families – should be a wake-up call to Americans who cherish freedom and equality.
Sutherland Vice President of Public Policy Derek Monson states, “Beyond abortion itself, today’s Supreme Court decision presents the nation with a test of our civic character: Will we reasonably and rationally apply moral values and political principles to like-minded people as well as to those with whom we disagree?”
Sutherland President and CEO Rick Larsen adds, “Healthy civic institutions are essential to fulfilling America’s founding aspirations of freedom and equality – the United States Supreme Court requires public trust to be effective. Events preceding the Dobbs decision have threatened that trust. We can change that moving forward.”
Public trust is possible only when government leaders live by norms that place the common good above partisan interest or an ideological agenda. Public trust also requires fair-minded news reporting grounded in a broad accumulation of facts, instead of promoting a narrative of division that misleads and misinforms the public.
Monson says, “Public policy regarding unborn human life and the rights and health of women with unwanted pregnancies will continue to be debated. However, everyone will lose in that debate if deciding abortion policy comes at the cost of undermining the institutions designed to protect everyone’s life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. If candor and civility – toward political friend and foe alike – along with sound constitutional principles and reliable facts shape the abortion policy debate, it will move America toward its ongoing vision of forming a more perfect union.”
Founded in 1995, Sutherland Institute is an independent research and educational institution – a think tank – whose mission is to advance civility, sound ideas, and principled public policy supporting faith, family and free enterprise. Sutherland Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.
For more information:
Derek Monson | Vice President of Public Policy
derek@sifreedom.org
801.355.1272 | www.sutherlandinstitute.org
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