SBC Ethics Commission and State Leaders Respond to Nov. 3 Ballot Measure Results on Abortion and Women’s Sports

Southern Baptist leaders responded to the results of several ballot measures on Nov. 3, applauding some outcomes and criticizing others as contrary to God’s Word. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and state executives spoke on pro-life and sports-related measures, according to Baptist Press.

In Idaho, 56% of voters rejected the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, according to voteidaho.gov. The measure would have legalized abortion before fetal viability and, in limited circumstances, after viability. Missouri, Nevada and Virginia protected abortion access in their own votes.

ERLC President Evan Lenow said that “the issue of life is as important today as it has ever been, but our culture seems to be sliding farther into a culture of death for the preborn.” He said that while the overturning of Roe was a major victory, “it opened up the fight for life in every state.” Lenow said the results show that Southern Baptists cannot neglect to contend for life at every level. He said he was grieved by the constitutional changes in Nevada, Missouri and Virginia, and grateful that Idaho voters rejected a measure he described as legalizing abortion on demand.

Rob Lee, executive director of the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention, also welcomed the Idaho result. He said Idahoans “chose life for the preborn” and thanked believers across the state who voted and mobilized others. Wes Fowler, executive director-treasurer of the Missouri Baptist Convention, had advocated for Missouri’s Amendment 3, which would have reversed a 2024 voter decision that added abortion rights to the state constitution. In a Nov. 3 Facebook post, Fowler said he was heartbroken by the result but that “hearts and minds can still be changed,” adding, “God is not confused and our mission has not changed.”

On sports measures, Arizona, Nebraska and Washington passed measures protecting gender-specific competitive sports, according to the report. A similar Colorado measure was leading in vote counts but was too close to call, according to election trackers including Ballotpedia. With 86% of the vote counted, 52.66% of Colorado voters had approved it and 47.34% had rejected it, according to voteidaho.gov. Lenow said Southern Baptists hold that God created mankind as male and female, and that embracing a view that denies this has “dire consequences, especially for the protection of children and women.” He praised voters in the three states that passed the measures.

In Wisconsin, a measure that would have limited governmental power to close churches during emergencies such as COVID-19 was rejected, 52% to 48%, or 1,340,000 votes to 1,239,027, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. The same ballot also included a measure that would have protected minors from sex-change operations, which the source says also failed. A Colorado measure on the subject, Proposition 135, was leading among voters, though Ballotpedia said that race was still too close to call.

Lenow, while grieving the Missouri loss, looked ahead to Colorado. He said, “Colorado voters are forecasted to pass a ban on gender transition surgeries for minors,” and that the results were “poised to show that voters in these other states voted with conviction.” Fowler’s grief over the Missouri loss, paired with his call to keep proclaiming Christ, shows that sorrow need not halt faithful work (Psalm 34:18).

Source: Read the original report