Abortion, reproductive technologies, gender transitions, and military drafting of women have become a topic of discussion on Capitol Hill, this time in relation to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA is an annual piece of federal legislation that authorizes the budget and expenditures for the Department of Defense (DOD) and other affiliated agencies. The NDAA serves as the principal mechanism through which Congress exercises its constitutional authority to “raise and support Armies” and “provide and maintain a Navy,” as stipulated in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
Some of the key components of the legislation in which abortion and gender ideology play a factor are the budget authorization, policy guidelines, and personnel matters. The NDAA specifies how much money can be spent in various categories. Beyond budgetary matters, the NDAA often includes policy provisions that guide the military’s conduct and regulations. The act also frequently addresses issues related to military personnel, such as payment or reimbursement for specific medical procedures.
As Congress continues negotiations for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Southern Baptists have several priorities for consideration:
- maintaining robust pro-life and conscience protections,
- resisting taxpayer-funded expansions of ethically dubious assisted reproductive technologies (ART),
- prohibiting the use of government funding for “gender transitions,” and
- ensuring the selective service is not expanded to include women.
The ERLC sent a letter to the United States Senate and House Armed Services Committees to share the priorities of Southern Baptists in the 2025 NDAA.
We invite our fellow Southern Baptists to join us in praying for godly wisdom to permeate these negotiations, for lives to be saved through maintaining the current restrictions on abortion, and for opportunities to clearly articulate God’s design for gender and sexuality.
