One week ahead of the March for Life, Dr. Gary Hollingsworth, interim president of the ERLC, sent a letter to President Trump, urging him to protect the sanctity of life.
Southern Baptist pro-life convictions
In the letter, Dr. Hollingsworth recounts Southern Baptists’ longstanding firm pro-life stance, affirming “the value, dignity, and sanctity of human life through numerous resolutions opposing abortion.” Hollingsworth states,
“Messengers to the SBC annual meetings have repeatedly affirmed the value, dignity, and sanctity of human life through numerous resolutions opposing abortion, including one in 2022 in anticipation of the Dobbs decision that recounted the SBC’s long history of opposing the “heinous act of abortion” (“On Anticipation of a Historic Moment in the Pro-life Movement”). In 2021, messengers passed a resolution explicitly heralding our support for across-the-board Hyde protections, “On Taxpayer Complicity In Abortion And The Hyde Amendment,” demonstrating just how important that issue is to our 12.9 million members. In 2025, the resolution “On Standing Against the Moral Evils and Medical Dangers of Chemical Abortion Pills” further clarified that these same concerns apply to chemical abortion as well.”
The pro-life movement at a crossroads
Hollingsworth highlights pro-life priorities the administration has yet to act upon, including adding the Hyde Amendment in the Affordable Care Act, restoring abortion pill (mifepristone) restrictions, and prohibiting Title X funding for Planned Parenthood and large abortion providers. Hollingsworth urges,
“The pro-life movement, a movement you have championed in the past, stands at a crossroads. Before us lies the opportunity to declare–by word and deed, by executive efforts and legislative action—that this administration, this Congress, and this country values life in the womb. We must care deeply and unequivocally for the smallest and most vulnerable among us: preborn children. Contrary to what some have said, the issue of life is not a matter best left to the states, but instead is a matter where the federal government must take action, leading with moral clarity. Now is not the time for flexibility when it comes to life, but for the sort of bold leadership that we have seen you exercise over and over again.”
Learn more about the ERLC’s pro-life advocacy here.
