September 16, 2026
Children of God for Life stands with families and leaders across many faith traditions, not only those that profess the Catholic faith. We have equipped countless families who refuse to use products derived from abortion with the information needed to press their leaders for policies that protect parental conscience rights and medical decision-making.
This conflict has now reached the forefront of Southern Baptist Convention meetings. Pastors and parents who are steadfast in their faith and committed to ending abortion are calling on the SBC to rescind its coercive policy requiring missionaries to vaccinate their children before serving abroad. The SBC International Mission Board (IMB) is enforcing a childhood vaccine policy that is removing or blocking qualified Southern Baptist missionaries from serving, and this policy conflicts with Baptist convictions about liberty of conscience.
Families often receive conflicting explanations from the SBC of what is meant by “core vaccines” and are strictly given a mandate for these “core vaccines” or they are unable to fulfill their missionary work abroad. Missionaries are not asking to abolish all vaccines—they are asking for parental discretion based on conscience to include timing and selection, in consultation with their children’s physician. The current policy does more than burden individual families; it contradicts foundational Baptist ecclesiology. By imposing a centralized medical mandate as a condition of missionary service, the IMB overrides the authority of the local church, undermines the voluntary cooperation on which Southern Baptist missions depend, and disregards the Baptist commitment to liberty of conscience. A denominational board should serve churches in their missionary calling—not exercise authority over matters entrusted to parents, physicians, and the sending church. This contradiction must be confronted openly and corrected without delay.
We unequivocally call on the Mission Board to reverse this policy and respect the conscience rights of parents.