Erin Morrow Hawley (born 1979 or 1980) is an American lawyer and the wife of Senator Josh Hawley.[2] She is known for her conservative political work and her affiliation with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).[3]
She currently serves as a senior counsel and vice president as a member at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).[3] Before working with ADF, Hawley practiced law with several law firms located in Washington D.C. which included: Kirkland and Ellis, Bancroft PLLC, and King & Spalding.[6]
Hawley previously worked as a law clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts as well as for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson.[1] She also served as a counsel to Attorney General Michael Mukasey in the Department of Justice.
Aside from her law career, she also immersed herself in academics as she taught at the University of Missouri as an associate professor,[4] taught constitutional litigation, federal income tax, tax policy, and agricultural law.[5] She also worked at the Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy where she taught constitutional law as a senior fellow. In addition to her senior counsel position at ADF,[4] she is an active member of the Missouri and District of Columbia bars.
Political positions and activism
Hawley has participated in numerous court cases. In 2014, Hawley and others sued Kamala Harris, former California Attorney General, over hen-laying laws.[7] Hawley and her colleagues argued that the Californian rule which granted egg-bearing hens more space in their cages, was a "blue state imposing its values and rules on Missouri farmers."[7]
Hawley is well known for her opposition to abortion.[8] Hawley was part of the team that work on the landmark case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.[9][10] She was involved in another Supreme Court case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023).[9] In 2024, Hawley presented a case to the Supreme Court against the FDA's approval of mifepristone, stating that the medication is a danger to women. Hawley argued that "federal approval of the abortion pill went forward without enough consideration of possible side effects and dangers, and that subsequent changes to enable greater access ignored health risks to women".[7] In the same year, she signed the paperwork for Alliance Defending Freedom's representation of the Idaho Attorney General in Moyle v. United States.[11]
In 2014, Hawley wrote an amicus brief on behalf of the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative women's organization, for landmark case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby in favor of the organization’s owners who refused to offer contraception coverage to their employees for religious reasons.[12][13] She also wrote amicus briefs for two Supreme Court cases: Zubik v. Burwell (2016) and Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020).[9]
Personal life
She met her husband, U./S. Senator Josh Hawley, while they were both working as law clerks for Chief Justice Roberts in 2007.[4][14] They married in 2010. The Hawleys have three children.[15] Hawley is a Christian.[7]
