The Alabama ruling, which had threatened access to in vitro fertilization and other reproductive services in the state, caught many Americans, including conservatives, off guard.
The idea that fertility treatments could be morally and legally questionable rattled many anti-abortion voters who had used such procedures to expand their families.
And it further frayed the increasingly tense alliance between the anti-abortion movement and the Republican Party, which saw political peril in going after I.V.F.
On Wednesday, the Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, voted to condemn the use of reproductive technologies like I.V.F.
The moment was especially striking given that after the Alabama ruling earlier this year, Republican leaders quickly tried to signal to their base that they supported I.V.F., an extraordinarily popular procedure widely used by Christians and non-Christians alike.
Persons:
Andrew T, Walker
Organizations:
Alabama, Southern Baptist, Republican Party, Southern Baptist Convention, Republican
Locations:
Kentucky, Alabama, The Alabama, Indianapolis