Before 1980, the Southern Baptist Convention officially advocated for loosening of abortion restrictions.[16] During the 1971 and 1974 Southern Baptist Conventions, Southern Baptists were called upon "to work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother."[16] W. Barry Garrett wrote in the Baptist Press, "Religious liberty, human equality and justice are advanced by the [Roe v. Wade] Supreme Court Decision."[16]

By 1980, conservative Protestant leaders became vocal in their opposition to legalized abortion,[17] and by the early 1990s Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition of America became a significant pro-life organization.[11] In 2005, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said that making abortion illegal is more important than any other issue.[18]

>>> So Conservative Christians... why the policy change?