Defending the Sanctity of Human Life
The sanctity of human life is rooted in the imago Dei—the truth taught by the Bible that all individuals are created in the image of God, granting them inherent value and dignity from conception to natural death.
Based on this religious conviction, CLS and its Center for Law & Religious Freedom believe that human life is inherently valuable and sacred, deserving of respect, justice, and protection, and that human life is holy, precious, and should be treated with reverence.
The Center defends the sanctity of human life in many ways, including opposing abortion, protecting the conscience of those who object to performing or having their health plans cover abortion, supporting adoption and foster care, opposing physician-assisted suicide, and fighting against human trafficking. The Center has filed amicus briefs in numerous life-related cases including Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the case that overruled both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The Center supports legislation that will empower and protect women and children and promote life, such as more affordable and accessible childcare, stronger and more equitable child support enforcement, and improved adoption and foster care systems, and opposes legislation creating an affirmative right to contraception. The Center has also represented crisis pregnancy centers from aggressive state attorneys general.
