If you needed any other reason to write off the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), look no further than its abortion lobby. I don’t say that tongue-in-cheek, either. You may be asking, “abortion lobby”? The answer is, yes. The ERLC, which is now headed by Russell Moore’s former henchman, Brent Leatherwood, has been on a crusade since he took office over a year ago to weaken anti-abortion laws and campaign against criminal punishment for women who seek or have them.

As I previously wrote, the recent trajectory of anti-abortion laws in the United States has been characterized by a rollercoaster of defeats and triumphs, with state legislatures imposing a variety of restrictions on the procedure. Shockingly, the ERLC President, Brent Leatherwood, has emerged as the primary roadblock to passing these laws.

As an NRLC letter signatory, Leatherwood ostensibly champions unborn rights, leading many to anticipate his unwavering support for anti-abortion legislation. Yet his actions consistently betray these expectations, casting a shadow over his dedication to the pro-life cause.

Leatherwood also sabotaged a Missouri bill that would have banned abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy. But it’s not just Leatherwood—the entire ERLC is compromised and one major contributor who writes for and speaks at ERLC events, Kelly Rosati, explains that Christians should NEVER support abortion bans without fully supporting government handouts. Rosati is also a former Focus on the Family executive.

“Pregnant, scared, poor woman and girl is experiencing an unexpected pregnancy,” Rosati says. “What does she need? She needs what we all need. She needs a place to live. She needs healthcare. She needs transportation.” Rosati calls these pregnancies “unexpected,” but doesn’t explain exactly what these “poor women” actually expect is going to happen when out being promiscuous and having unprotected sex. “And folks, this cannot all be done through the church,” she added.

She then goes on to make the case that it is the government that must step in and that Christians must support this. “And so for me, I want to just plant a flag and say, let us be people that never advocate for abortion restrictions without an accompanying paid family leave support.”

If you’re still Southern Baptist for some odd, unbiblical reason, this is what you’re supporting. This is what your tithe dollars are going to promote. This is the ideology coming out of your denomination. Hopefully, you will heed God’s advice in Revelation 18:4, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues…”