The average person is concerned about the environment, and opposes policies that needlessly damage it. But the average person is not an alarmist. This is not true of many climate activists: some are downright dishonest, making claims that are indefensible. Worse, they are rank hypocrites.
Just this week, a district judge in Montana tossed a lawsuit brought by left-wing activists who sought to check executive orders signed by President Trump on the environment. The activists claimed that Trump’s rulings escalate “climate-related dangers” to such an extent that they threaten the lives of the 22 children whom they are representing.
The judge said the courts lack the authority to block the executive orders. He also noted that what the plaintiffs really sought to do was to entice the court “to return the environmental policy of the previous administration.” That was a bridge too far.
None of this is of grave interest to the Catholic League. What does concern us is the duplicity of the plaintiffs.
They say they are interested in the protecting the lives of children, yet upon examination it appears that the two prominent public interest firms that are party to this lawsuit, Public Justice and Our Children’s Trust, have no interest in protecting the lives of unborn children—just kids who allegedly may die from global warming.
Public Justice claims to fight “purveyors of corporate corruption, sexual abusers and harassers, and polluters who ravage the environment.” Our Children’s Trust claims to be the “world’s only non-profit interest law firm dedicated exclusively to securing the legal rights of youth to a healthy atmosphere and safe climate, based on the best available science.” Their interest in saving lives, however, is drawn very narrowly.
In 2022, Public Justice issued a statement, “We believe the right to abortion is a fundamental, human right.” Nowhere does it even hint at any competing right on the part of the unborn. It decries what it says are “legal efforts to undermine abortion access for those who need it has effectively put millions of peoples’ rights, autonomy, health, and lives at risk.” What about the rights, autonomy, health and lives of children who are being killed in utero?
Our Children’s Trust has filed briefs condemning the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, making plain its total lack of interest in protecting the right to life of unborn children. It is also prone to hyperbole. To be specific, it cites in its lawsuit the testimony of a teenage hiker who claims Trump’s executive orders are a “death sentence for my generation.” The lead attorney opined, “Every day these executive orders remain in effect, these 22 young Americans suffer irreparable harm to their health, safety, and future.”
Making unsubstantiated claims of this magnitude seriously undercuts the credibility of Our Children’s Trust.
Facts matter. Everyone knows that if a pregnant woman’s condition is not interrupted, she will give birth to the human being she has been carrying. That’s not a matter of religion—it’s Biology 101. It is certainly noble to want to protect the environment, but it is ignoble not to protect children in the womb. Indeed, that constitutes a real “death sentence,” not a fictional one.
