Georgians 'shocked' by Southern Baptist votes on women and IVF

At least twice a week growing up, Kimberly Bacon could be found at a service at New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, about 20 miles from Atlanta.

“The Baptist Church has been an integral part of my life,” Bacon said. “I was very active. I went there every Sunday and Wednesday. I attended vacation Bible school and weekend retreats. » It’s not unusual to see a church on every street corner in the area where Bacon lives. Many of these churches are undoubtedly Southern Baptist, Georgia’s most active Christian branch and the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. But for Bacon, 32, and other Georgians who spoke with the USA TODAY Network, the Southern Baptist Church began growing in contradiction to their personal beliefs. For some, their main frustration lies with the SBC leadership’s shift toward far-right ideology. Others expressed concern that the Church was interfering with their ability to start a family. The Southern Baptist Convention this week narrowly voted against a proposed amendment to the church’s constitution that would have banned women from serving as pastors. Bacon said the vote surprised her.

“I find it shocking that a group of people who have consistently said they don’t think women are ‘fit’ to be in a leadership role narrowly avoid banning it,” she said. result.” The convention also addressed the issue of in vitro fertilization, a new hot spot among conservatives since the fall of Roe v. Wade. SBC members voted to formally oppose IVF, the fertility treatment popular among people who cannot conceive naturally.

More:Southern Baptists reject ban on female pastors in historic vote

Southern Baptists avoid ban on female pastors

SBC narrowly avoided an outright ban on female pastors. The 10,000 SBC members at the Indianapolis convention voted 61 percent in favor of the amendment, short of the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments. Had the measure passed, SBC leaders could have imposed tighter restrictions on individual churches with female pastors by “barring” them.

According to Fox 5 DC, seven churches have already been excluded from the community because of the pastoral role women play in their congregations. A church in Alexandria, Virginia, led by a woman, was evicted last Tuesday.

Reluctance toward female pastors is not exclusive to the Southern Baptist Church. The Rev. Melanie Stanley-Soulen, a chaplain in Blairsville, Ga., said some members of the Methodist Church have been skeptical since she began her ministerial career in the 1970s.

Stanley-Soulen said resistance continues to this day. The last time she served as a local pastor was in 2016 at a small church in rural Georgia.

“Before I even got there, about 20 people in the church left,” she said. “They didn’t have a female pastor. They didn’t want a female pastor. Those 20 people left and went to the Baptist church down the street.

She explained that in the Bible Belt, “Southern Baptist theology still permeates people’s thinking, belief and understanding. Many small churches in Georgia are actually Baptist churches, although they may have a different name branded.

Southern Baptists vote to ban IVF

SBC leaders also voted overwhelmingly to ban IVF, which involves combining eggs and sperm in a petri dish to develop an embryo. It is common to discard excess frozen embryos and those that may not result in a viable pregnancy.

The ban on IVF demonstrates the SBC’s desire to broaden its anti-abortion fight in a post-Roe deer world. The resolution implores Southern Baptists to “reaffirm the unconditional worth and right to life of every human being, including those in the embryonic stage.”

Annalyce Tomko is a 26-year-old nurse practitioner currently undergoing IVF treatments with her husband. She said that as a Christian, she recognizes that embryos are a form of life. But she disagrees with the vote to ban IVF.

More:Southern Baptists condemn it and many states are debating it. The battle for IVF in 2024.

“We think all of our stored embryos right now are our children’s, so when we have a miscarriage or the embryo transfer doesn’t work, it’s devastating,” Tomko said. “We hate having to resort to IVF, but we are very grateful that it exists. It’s scary to think that this could be removed.

Tomko suffers from a bleeding disorder that has caused her three miscarriages in the past year and a half. She called IVF a “lifesaver” but admits she still struggles to accept the idea as a Christian.

Tomko also said it was difficult for him to see these decisions made by Southern Baptist men. “Unless you’ve had IVF, you don’t know what it’s like.”