Four appearances before the Supreme Court. Hundreds of cases in courts and school boards. Support from 14 of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. A possible federal judgeship. All in all, it has been a very good year for Alliance Defending Freedom.
ADF was founded four decades ago by James Dobson and more than two dozen conservative Christian leaders to move law to the right and battle liberal legal groups. “There must be a response to the ACLU,” Dobson said.
By 2023, ADF had proved its power, as a profile in The New Yorker showed: “Overturning Roe v. Wade; allowing employer-sponsored health insurance to exclude birth control; rolling back limits on government support for religious organizations; protecting the anonymity of donors to advocacy groups; blocking pandemic-related public-health rules; and establishing the right of a baker to refuse to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.”
Here’s a look at ADF’s very good 2025.
Supreme Court appearances
ADF already has won 16 Supreme Court rulings and has played a role in another 83 decisions. ADF made four 2025 Supreme Court appearances. It already has won one of the cases and lost one other. It is awaiting rulings in three others.
Victory: ADF defended the state of South Carolina’s decision to direct Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood. “Thanks be to God,” said ADF of the June 26 ruling.
Likely wins:
- On Oct. 7, ADF represented Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, who is challenging Colorado’s law against conversion therapy.
- On Dec. 2, ADF represented New Jersey crisis pregnancy centers operated by First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which were under investigation by the state.
Lost, but try again: ADF defended Oklahoma’s St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a Christian school that would have received taxpayer funding. The court upheld an earlier Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling against the school. But ADF has helped a Colorado group start a Christian school there to fight again for taxpayer funding of Christian schools.
Trump executive orders
Trump has signed more executive orders in 2025 than he did in all four years of his first term. Many of the orders have aligned with and supported ADF’s advocacy, including seven signed in Trump’s first month that “will help advance Americans’ fundamental freedoms and positively influence Alliance Defending Freedom’s work:”
- Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports
- Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling
- Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation
- Reinstating the Mexico City Policy
- Enforcing the Hyde Amendment
- Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
- Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service
- Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
- Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship
- Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government
ADF also cheered four additional executive orders:
- Fostering the Future for American Children and Families
- Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans
- Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities
- Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias
“The inauguration of Donald Trump as our 47th president has become a pivotal moment for our country,” said ADF. “After enduring stifling authoritarianism at home and witnessing it abroad, Americans want a government that protects inalienable rights and honors the rule of law.”
Here comes the judge?
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Missouri has a vacancy, and Trump may appoint a top ADF attorney to the post.
“The Lawyer Who Killed Roe Is About to Get a Promotion” reported The New Republic, citing “a campaign pushing for one candidate in particular,” Erin Hawley, a senior ADF attorney.
Josh and Erin Hawley (via X)
“If Hawley is successful, the implications for the people living in the Eighth Circuit’s jurisdiction — stretching across Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and the Dakotas — will be profound,” reported The New Republic.
Hawley, who is the wife of Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, has argued some of ADF’s successful cases, TNR reported: “She argued Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and erased nearly 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion. She stood before the court again in 303 Creative v. Elenis, helping secure a ruling that carved out a broad First Amendment exemption to state civil rights laws protecting LGBTQ individuals from discrimination. Most recently, she represented Idaho in Moyle v. United States, contending that hospitals should not be required to provide emergency abortions even when a pregnant woman’s life or health hangs in the balance.”
The news outlet also reported: “Her rise has coincided with ADF’s strategic campaign to install movement-aligned lawyers in federal courts and take advantage of key courts’ personnel changes to advance its agenda. Trump has already appointed several ADF-affiliated judges, and a Hawley nomination to the Eighth Circuit would deepen that pipeline.”
More to come in 2026
ADF attorneys will be back before the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 as they defend legislation passed in West Virginia and Idaho to prevent transgender athletes from participating in women’s sporting events.
ADF worked with the Family Policy Alliance, Focus on the Family’s partner in 40 states, to pass laws against trans sports participation in two dozen states.
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