Alarmed by embryo destruction, Southern Baptists urge caution on IVF by couples and government
Southern Baptists have expressed alarm over the way in vitro fertilization is routinely being practiced at their annual meeting in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Southern Baptist delegates expressed alarm Wednesday over the way in vitro fertilization is routinely being practiced, approving a resolution lamenting that the creation of surplus frozen embryos often results in “destruction of embryonic human life.”
They urged members to carefully weigh the ethical implications of the technology while also expressing sympathy with couples “who experience the searing pain of infertility.”
The resolution — approved near the end of the Southern Baptist Convention's two-day annual meeting — affirms that embryos are human beings from the moment of fertilization, whether in the womb or generated in the laboratory via IVF. That's the same position held by the Alabama Supreme Court in ruling that frozen embryos have the full rights of people.
In the wake of that decision, Alabama passed a law shielding IVF providers from prosecution and lawsuits — reflecting that even in a state with strong anti-abortion sentiment, there is support for a technology used by many couples facing infertility.
