Wednesday was the day the Southern Baptists cast their vote against the practice of in vitro fertilization.
The proclamation, which is not legally obligatory, urges members of the largest evangelical denomination in the country to only embrace reproductive methods that recognize the value and right to life of every human being from the moment of conception onward.
The vote was cast by 10,000 messengers, who were delegates of the Southern Baptist Convention. These messengers are currently gathering in Indianapolis for the annual conference of the organization.
The proposal that urges Southern Baptists to only use reproductive procedures that affirm the “unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in the embryonic stage” was passed by messengers on Wednesday. The policy encourages Southern Baptists to utilize only those methods.
It was the day before that messengers decided to expel a church from the Southern Baptist denomination for adhering to the view that women could serve as pastors inside the Southern Baptist church. The vote that took place on Wednesday happened a day after that vote.
Despite the action that took place on Tuesday concerning the Virginia congregation, messengers decided against a formal prohibition on women serving in the clergy, even though the church does not permit women to operate in that capacity informally.
