Alicia Amos cried after she learned of the resolution issued by the Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday opposing the use of in vitro fertilization as it is widely practiced, and thought of her 3-year-old daughter. Her spirited toddler was conceived through IVF, making her among the roughly 2% of children now born annually as a result of the procedure. Amos, 32, grew up Southern Baptist, and she still belongs to the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, attending a church with her husband in Missouri.
She doesn’t want to “disparage” the convention or the delegates who voted for the resolution. But she doesn’t want her daughter wounded. “I never, ever want her to feel shame for the way that she was conceived and brought into this world, because she is a precious, precious gift,” Amos said.
Southern Baptist women who spoke with NBC News said they were already grappling with infertility or undergoing IVF in ways that align with their faith — even before messengers in Indianapolis endorsed the resolution opposing the common practice of IVF. In some cases, these women’s beliefs encompass conservative-leaning positions about when life begins. But many noted that the issues raised in the resolution, such as the handling of surplus embryos and genetic testing of embryos, are complex ones where there’s not a sole consensus among Christians.
For some, the resolution’s tone was deeply hurtful. While the document acknowledged the “searing pain” of infert.