Media Tip Sheets

Will SBC’s Vote Against IVF Cost Conservatives Voters?

Tuesday, June 18, 2024, By Ellen Mbuqe
Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution condemning in vitro fertilization, or IVF. This was the first statement of its kind for the SBC.
Reporters looking for experts to help explain how this vote will impact the 2024 election and especially Republican support, please see comments from Syracuse University Assistant Professor Mark Brockway. His work focuses on the political consequences of changes in religious dynamics in the United States including the rise in secularism and the conflict between religion and secularism.
  • “The decision by the Southern Baptist Convention may hurt Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term. Democrats will paint conservative Christians, and by extension Trump, as out of step with a strong majority of Americans who support IVF access. But what is bad for Trump’s electoral prospects may be good for the SBC, and good for the movement that successfully overturned nationwide access to abortion. Contrary to common perception, the SBC did not come out against abortion until the mid-1970s. Their position against abortion, like their position against IVF, has little to do with deep-rooted religious theology and is instead a strategic move to leverage an important issue for political and social gain. It creates a false history and false fundamentalism around the abortion issue, making the SBC look like the protectors of ‘traditional Christian values’ and American morality. It is this invented moral authority that is at the heart of Trump’s appeal inside and outside of the SBC, even in the face of his waning popularity with some religious leaders who previously supported him. Trump’s perceived position as the defender of American morality and Christianity may supersede the IVF and abortion issue to deliver him the presidency in 2024.”
To arrange an interview with Professor Brockway, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu.