Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center — NRB

The pending release of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center—and possible reversal of Roe v. Wade—is top-of-mind for Christian communicators and advocacy organizations this month.

With eighteen more cases to be decided before the end of the term (as of June 16), all eyes are on the Supreme Court calendar for newly-scheduled opinion issuance days, denoted in yellow. On opinion issuance days, the opinions of the Supreme Court for the most recent term are released every ten minutes beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET. (How to know when the last opinion of the day has been released: look for the sequential “R” numbers to appear in the left-hand column here.)

While the Dobbs v. Jackson opinion may be released on any opinion issuance day, high-profile cases are often reserved for the end of the term. Although the current pace of the Court’s decisions suggests that the Dobbs decision may be released near the end of June, there is no deadline, and the Supreme Court has in recent years continued releasing opinions into the month of July.

Help NRB Amplify Your Organization

Here are a few steps you can take to partner with NRB as we seek to equip and mobilize your organizations and ministries:

(1) Upon the release of the Dobbs opinion, email links to your organization’s statements and social media posts about the SCOTUS decision to Noelle Garnier, NRB’s director of public policy and communications, at ngarnier@nrb.org.

(2) Send us your questions about Dobbs v. Jackson for expert legal commentators and professional pro-life communicators to weigh in. We’ll coordinate timely follow-up programming surrounding the questions and topics of greatest interest to our membership. To submit questions, please email ngarnier@nrb.org.

(3) Join us in prayer for advocates, resource centers, and Supreme Court justices. On the eve of this landmark Supreme Court decision, organizations speaking out in defense of life have been met with extreme opposition, including physical threats. Read this thread from Family Research Council (FRC) about acts of violence and vandalism against churches, pro-life organizations, and individuals. NRB condemns all such acts, and we remain in prayer for God’s protection on all Supreme Court justices as they carry out their public service amid threats of violence and intense protest activity at their family homes.

NRB’s Pro-Life Commitment 

At our 2022 convention in Nashville, Tennessee, NRB’s Board of Directors approved a resolution renewing NRB’s historic position of affirming the right to life and calling on states to uphold the sanctity of life pending the ruling of the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson.

Whereas human life bears the image of God and, therefore, has intrinsic value and dignity (Genesis 1:27; 1 Corinthians 11:7a). Moreover, human life begins at conception—as Scripture tells us, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb,”—and every person is “fearfully and wonderfully made” by Him (Psalm 139:13-16);

Whereas nearly one million pregnancies are terminated every year in the United States, with a disproportionate impact on Black and Latino unborn lives;

Whereas a pending Supreme Court decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization could overturn Roe v. Wade, which would mark a historic turning point in the fight for unborn life;

Therefore be it resolved that NRB affirms the right to life of the unborn; NRB denounces the moral crime of demanding and celebrating abortion within American society; and NRB calls on states, pending the ruling of the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson, to pursue laws and reforms that uphold the sanctity of life, reduce abortions, and treat all human life with dignity.

Resolution approved by the NRB Board of Directors, March 8, 2022