Southern Baptists vote to oppose IVF

What happened

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., voted Wednesday to approve a resolution opposing the use of in vitro fertilization. Unexpectedly, the delegates at the annual conference also narrowly rejected a proposal to enshrine a ban on Southern Baptist churches that allow women to serve as pastors ; the amendment needed 66% but got only 61%.

Who said what

The nonbinding IVF resolution urges Southern Baptists to "reaffirm the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage," and suggests shunning IVF as not "consistent with that affirmation" because extra embryos are often discarded.

Most white evangelicals, "even those who oppose abortion," support "IVF and how it has allowed countless Americans to start families," The Tennessean said. But the Southern Baptist meetings are "closely watched as a barometer of evangelical sentiment," The New York Times said, and Wednesday's vote suggests IVF "may be the next front for the anti-abortion movement ."

What next?

Future resolutions against IVF will use "much stronger language," but "Southern Baptists aren't ready to speak to that yet," SBC resolutions chair Kristen Ferguson said.