The ERLC sent a 2026 pro-life appropriations letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging consideration of the pro-life priorities of Southern Baptists in ongoing government funding discussions. ERLC President Brent Leatherwood shares the important timing of this letter:
“This week marks the three-year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Because of that monumental decision, the opportunity is at hand to take real and meaningful steps toward a true culture of life.”
To best represent the interests of Southern Baptists in these negotiations, the ERLC assists members of Congress and their staff as they participate in the annual congressional appropriations process by highlighting areas of concern and support for lawmakers, attending meetings with their staff, and clearly communicating policy priorities.
2026 pro-life appropriations policy areas
Under consideration in the current appropriations (government funding) negotiations for 2026 are three primary pro-life policy areas:
- retain existing baseline pro-life protections;
- ensure strong conscience protections remain in place; and
- prevent the use of government funding to expand access to the unregulated practice of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), such as IVF; or, at a minimum, prioritize the development of a system of federal oversight which includes baseline ethical standards for ARTs that protect and inform women and ensure embryos are treated with care.
Leatherwood shares in the letter:
“For 40 years, Southern Baptists have been at the forefront of the pro-life movement, championing life with conviction and moral clarity. Southern Baptists have opposed taxpayer-funded abortion since 1980. We have supported the Hyde Amendment since 1993 and have articulated a desire to defund Planned Parenthood since 2008. At the 2022 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, just days before the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, Southern Baptists restated their desire that Roe v. Wade must be overturned and for lawmakers to enact policies that care for both vulnerable mothers and preborn children.
In recent months, there has been much debate on the national stage regarding the role of the federal government in protecting preborn life. The questions that continually rise include: When does life begin? What is the state responsible for? What do we owe, and to whom do we owe it? Differing definitions of personal autonomy, responsibility, and human dignity color these questions.
Southern Baptists have consensus on many of these matters. From the moment of conception to natural death, Southern Baptists believe that each person is made in the image of God and worthy of protection and care, regardless of age or ability. We live out the tenets of these beliefs by personally engaging in adoption and foster care, volunteering at and supporting pregnancy care centers, and advocating to protect life and human flourishing at every stage of development. Southern Baptists believe we are to be unequivocally, individually, and communally pro-life. These experiences compel us to speak to your work as our nation’s lawmakers.”
