Mike Stone, who serves as pastor of Emmanuel Baptist in Blackshear, GA and steering committee member for the Conservative Baptist Network, tweeted on Wednesday, “If the former president of the largest abortion provider in America thinks the oral arguments went poorly, then, by God’s grace, it was a good day in the Supreme Court.” Attached to the tweet was a screenshot of a tweet from former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, which called many of the statements in the hearing “horrifying.”
“May we be the generation that sees an end to the legalized holocaust of abortion,” Stone added.
In response to Stone’s tweet, SBC pastor Dwight McKissic said, “Wow!!! Actually feels good to agree with Mike Stone about something. Rare time I can say Amen to something he’s said, without qualifications or total outright disagreement. It will be a great day in America if Roe v Wade is overturned.” Stone and McKissic have regularly feuded about a variety of issues within the SBC, but appeared united in their stance regarding Roe v. Wade.
Nevertheless, some Christian voices have taken this moment to challenge their fellow Christian leaders to develop a more fully orbed approach to their pro-life advocacy.
Christian sociologist Samuel Perry tweeted, “Thinking about the SCOTUS abortion case. There are many reasons folks oppose abortion. BUT the ‘sanctity of life’ rhetoric always bothers me cuz folks who want to restrict abortion are also *more likely to be* folks who disregard life (or nonviolence, mercy) the most.” In the ensuing thread, Perry posted statistical data showing that those who oppose abortion are also most likely to support the death penalty, easier access to firearms, and harsher law enforcement practices.
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“Nowhere is the moral fragmentation of American evangelicalism more apparent than in many white evangelicals’ frail embrace of the right to life,” tweeted Christian philosopher and social scientist Scott Coley. “According to the pro-life position, all persons—including both born and unborn persons—have a ‘right to life,’ and that right should be protected by the force of law.”
“But many evangelical Christians who self-identify as ‘pro-life’ are also healthcare libertarians,” Coley continued. “Healthcare libertarianism is demonstrably at odds with the pro-life position.”
Other Christian leaders contended that while the American church often fails to be fully pro-life, this does not negate the importance of limiting elective abortions through legislation.
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“Being pro-life is about far more than simply opposing abortion. But it cannot be one inch less than opposing the elimination of our nation’s most vulnerable population,” tweeted Joel Rainery, who is the pastor of Covenant Church in Shepherdstown, WV. “Praying today for justice for the unborn.”
Sharing a thread about the struggles of being pro-life in liberal spaces, Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Karen Swallow Prior said, “While a lot of attention is being given (rightly) to the failures and hypocrisies of the pro-life movement, no one should harbor the illusion that the abortion rights movement has the moral high ground here.”
