On abortion, as with so much else, the much-derided Georgetown cocktail parties should be taken seriously, though not literally; like everyone else, elite conservative lawyers crave the approval of their social and professional peers. It might not be a coincidence that the court’s staunchest originalist, Justice Clarence Thomas, grew up poor and spends his summers traveling the country in an RV.

The tactical benefits of conservative reticence on Roe have been tied to a strategic disaster: a legal culture in which the legitimacy and future longevity of Roe is presumed, especially in the elite legal circles in which conservative justices (present and future) work and live. Conservatives have a few legal groups, most notably the Federalist Society, which is still fairly heterogeneous. The left has the law schools, the journals, and most of the big law firms.

Lawyers who take an open stand against abortion receive quiet encouragement, and pro-life legal groups receive donations from closet pro-life lawyers. Lawyers who litigate against abortion are unemployable at most major law firms, however, and judges such as Bill Pryor, Kyle Duncan, and Matt Kacsmaryk are presumed to be unconfirmable to the Supreme Court.