I've seen many pro-lifers distancing themselves from this story - obviously these aren't "my people" if they would do something like this. Besides, who would want to defend this Catholic Hospital - it would probably result in people calling you a hypocrite... or worse. It definitely would not up your pro-life street cred.
As an attorney, I'm appalled by the actions of many of my peers, and even my friends. Questions of legal strategy are generally up to an experienced attorney - who in this case did an excellent job of using the law as it stands to achieve a positive result for his client. What more could an attorney aspire to do? I doubt that this Catholic Hospital engages in religious discrimination when hiring their general counsel. I doubt that they grill all their accountants, janitors, contractors, or attorneys to ensure they are pro-life and will only use pro-life arguments when arguing in a court of law. I am not my client. And my client is not me. While many attorneys choose to be very open about their political or moral beliefs, many other attorneys choose not to. It's quite possible that the attorney arguing this very case is (gasp!) pro-choice.
But it's also possible that this attorney is pro-life and truly values the life of every unborn child. Regardless, an attorney's opinion on a political/moral issue has no place in a courtroom. Yes, there are times when it is appropriate to argue for changing the law, but those are few and far between compared to the times when you are expected, even required, to argue the law, as it is written, not as you (or your client) wish it to be.
So call them hypocrites if you want - but I just can't see what is so hypocritical about hiring an attorney without regard for his political or moral beliefs, allowing that attorney to guide the legal strategy of your case, and arguing in court that you did not break the law as it is written.
