Messengers approved four resolutions during the 2024 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting: celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Cooperative Program; supporting volunteer chaplains in schools; awareness on human trafficking; and expression of appreciation of those who helped make the Annual Meeting possible.
However, the Committee on Resolutions reported it had declined to recommend a resolution it had received, “The Abolition of Self-Managed Abortion in Louisiana,” from Brian Gunter, a messenger and pastor with First Baptist Church, Livingston.
Debate
During a time of discussion about the resolutions report, Gunter asked messengers to vote to pull his proposed resolution out of committee, leading to a floor debate. Gunter shared that this is the third year he had come before the messengers, asking them to adopt a statement on the matter.
“I’m going to bring this matter to your attention year after year, because some in our state convention of churches have repeatedly opposed our efforts to unify our churches in calling for the abolition of all abortion in our state,” he said. “So, the question for us today is this — should every human life be equally protected by law in the state of Louisiana? My answer is a resounding yes, and yet some have stood against me in the fight for life.
“Maybe someone would like to come before this microphone and explain why he believes that children in the womb should not have the same right to life as you and me,” he continued. “Please come explain why you believe that self-managed abortion must remain legal for women in Louisiana. Please explain why you believe that a child’s life should not be fully protected until after that child is born.
“Oh, and don’t forget, we aren’t a convention of politicians,” he said. “We are a convention of churches, you want to convince us that self-managed abortion should remain legal for women in the state of Louisiana, then you’ll have to make your case from the Bible. But you can’t do that, and we all know it. The Bible is extremely clear – ‘you shall not murder.’ There are no exceptions. Murdering anyone should be illegal for everyone, and frankly it’s shameful that it has taken us three years to make such a statement.”
Speaking against the motion, Committee on Resolutions Chairman Fieldon Thigpen, pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Bogalusa, shared that the committee did not bring Gunter’s resolution out of committee after the group had researched the abortion abolitionist movement (Abolitionists Rising), with which Gunter has aligned.
The abortion abolitionist movement advocates for the prosecution of women who have abortions. In some high-profile instances, pro-life leaders and groups who have disagreed on this point have been attacked as “pro-abortion,” “murderers,” etc.
Thigpen noted that Louisiana Baptists have a long track record of defending the sanctity of human life, promoting efforts to preserve the lives of the unborn and offering support for expected mothers, and mentioned six resolutions that messengers have adopted in just the last 10 years:
— 2023 ON PREVENTING MAIL-ORDER ABORTIFACIENTS (which addresses “self-managed abortions”)
— 2022 ON THANKING GOD FOR THE SUPREME COURT’S RULING IN DOBBS v. JACKSON
— 2019 ON LOVE LIFE AMENDMENT (support for a state constitutional amendment that there is no right to an abortion)
— 2018 ON LOUISIANA BAPTISTS’ PRO-LIFE BELIEFS
— 2015 ON DEFUNDING PLANNED PARENTHOOD
— 2014 ON PREGNANCY CARE CENTERS
“In contrast, the LBC has voted down proposed abolitionist resolutions,” he said. “As the Resolutions Committee, we are not the voice of the Convention.
“We seek to provide words for the voice of the Convention … words of which we believe you will be resolved about. In light of these facts, we are confident that Louisiana Baptists are resolved on the sanctity of human life and desiring to see all babies in our state live, but do not believe Louisiana Baptists are unitedly resolved with the abolitionist movement about the methods by which we hope to accomplish this.”
Following discussion, the motion to adopt Gunter’s resolution did not receive the required two-thirds majority needed to pass.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Baptist Message staff and originally published by the Baptist Message.
