President Clint Pressley chartered a new path for the Southern Baptist Convention, endorsing Tennessee bills HB 570 and SB 738, which extend equal legal protection to preborn children from conception, effectively classifying abortion as homicide.
The Southern Baptist Convention has had a tenuous history advocating the Pro-Life position. Pro-abortion in the 1970s and repealing that in the 1980s, only to finally call for the outlawing of abortion in 2021, when messengers voted to bring a resolution to the floor that was rejected by the committee. However, the Southern Baptist Convention has since opposed pro-life legislation in Louisiana and has been a largely ineffective lobby on a number of issues.
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has long served as the lobbying arm, but has opposed pro-life legislation. But with Brent Leatherwood removed from being its leader, the ERLC has been quiet even with state legislatures in session. Clint Pressley’s weighing in fills the void that the ERLC should be filling in its day-to-day with their seven figure budget.
The pro-life lobby, as represented by the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, celebrated Clint Pressley’s support.
