IVF and the Fractured Right: How the Church Should Lead the Conversation

Back in 2010 I spent some time in Uganda and was asked by a local pastor, “What do Americans think of (then) President Barack Obama?” I don’t think this dear brother realized how loaded of a question this was! It depends on who you ask. As the saying goes, “Ask two people, get three opinions.” Similarly, when the question of IVF is raised among people who are traditionally regarded as conservative, you’ll likely get a similar response. Different viewpoints range anywhere from the finer points to positions that are admittedly opposed to one another — and all on one side of the political spectrum where one would expect to find a degree of uniformity. Instead of something that looks like a consensus or coalition among conservatives, there is a fractured voice regarding the question of IVF.

A Brief Survey of the Right: of Think Tanks, News Coverage, and Evangelical Media

Conservative leaning think tanks display a spectrum of views. Some consider IVF as controversial but as beneficial for “family formation” which the government should not intrude upon.^[1] Others see it as a novel technology that presents moral problems that should be more tightly regulated.^[2] Still others view it as a legal question that needs greater clarity as to the status of the embryos.^[3]  And there are also those who emphasize the personhood and status of embryos, arguing that IVF leads to them being commodified.^[4]

Evidence of this viewpoint diversity continues as you move to examine the  discourse beyond paywalls, intellectual forums, and into the mainstream, event-driven coverage. Take, for example,the 2024 Alabama Supreme Court embryo ruling.^[5] Coverage of this ruling  splinters into a variety of perspectives focused on IVF accessibility,^[6] Trump’s executive order on IVF,^[7] attempts to lower the financial cost by expanding IVF access,^[8] offering discounts on key ovarian stimulation drugs,^[9] and the oversight needed when embryo mix ups are made amidst many other clinical failures.^[10]

Evangelicalism itself reflects this general diversity of views regarding IVF.. Some argue against IVF wholesale;^[11] others argue that it is a blessing;^[12] and still others, threading the needle in search of a middle ground, acknowledge that there are serious moral concerns but insist there is a way to pursue IVF ethically that does not violate any biblical prohibitions or theological principles.^[13] But as much talk is happening outside of the walls of the church, how much of it is actually making its way to the pulpit? If it reaches the man who is entrusted to preach the Word, how much of it goes from the pulpit to the person in the pew? My pulse on the status of this issue within the church is this: not much is being said among church leaders. I believe there are four primary reasons for this silence.

Misunderstanding IVF

IVF is spoken about often in the news, but few know what actually transpires in its practice. Consider just last year when a pro-life Missouri congressman was presenting HB 1072 to ban abortion.^[14] He was asked by one of his colleagues on the House Children and Families Committee about the adjacent issue of IVF. He responded that “IVF is pro-life.” This assertion, of course, is not true. I don’t believe the congressman was lying; I believe he was simply misinformed. If a state congressman presenting a bill to ban abortion doesn’t understand that IVF routinely creates and destroys more embryos than it ever intends to transfer to the prospective mother, then what will the average person think of IVF when they hear it as a basic means to overcoming infertility? It’s quite simple, they will similarly misunderstand the issue and have an uncritical and undeveloped understanding of what IVF entails.

IVF is a theologically rich topic and the church is theologically anemic

In order to have a discussion about IVF, the necessary prerequisite doctrines that must be unpacked include, at least: the doctrine of creation, man, sin, marriage, procreation, the image of God, the moral law of God, justice, and death. If these foundational building blocks are not preached from the pulpit and if they are not regularly engaged with in Sunday School, men’s and women’s bible studies, one-on-one discipleship, the primary way one will engage with IVF won’t be from the Word of the living God, but from the talking points they heard on the news or worse. Sadly, many churches today have avoided studying theology altogether at the risk of their attendance dropping. They have forsaken the study of Scripture by trading the feeding of the sheep for entertaining goats. The results are that, because pastors have not faithfully demonstrated how to rightly hand the Word of truth, our churches are doctrinally starved and unable to think biblically about IVF and other important issues.

IVF shares territory with politics

We’ve all heard some form of the expression,“we don’t want elephants or donkeys dividing us.” While we must certainly avoid political idolatry, this trite slogan has effectively silenced the voice of our shepherds. IVF, like many issues, is unavoidably debated in our public square. Because it is political, the long-standing de facto policy of many churches is to simply be “hands off.” It’s a lightning rod issue that will rock the boat, and as the late Walter Martin, the original Bible Answer Man and author of The Kingdom of the Cults would say, “Too many people in the church have a bad case of ‘Non-Rock-a-Boatus.’” Pre-2024, it certainly would have been easier to speak about IVF since it wasn’t yet thrust into the news and center stage in the political arena. Post-2024, the topic has become far more politically charged, increasing the likelihood that pastors who avoid such issues will remain silent.

IVF inside the church silences criticism

I first took a deep dive into IVF during a bioethics seminar when I was a student pastor. When I told my then senior pastor of the alarming things I learned happen to leftover embryos, I was strongly urged to keep my opinions to myself because there were people within our congregation who had used IVF to conceive. Not every church staff situation will be this manipulative, but as pastors become aware of those who have used or are actively pursuing ART/IVF treatments, they will be forced to either stand on the Word of God or live in the fear of man. It’s not just within the local churches that far too many pastors have chosen to be silent, but also Christian publishers. A friend of mine who has worked for several prominent Christian publishing houses knows women and editors on staff at each of these publishers who were actively pursuing IVF. To date, all of them have remained silent on IVF and ART. Our fear of being critical and receiving criticism based on our views of IVF has silenced not only many voices in the church, but also the publication of resources that could help equip church members wrestle with this complex issue. That, then, brings us to this question: how should we engage this issue within the church?

How to Equip the Church 

Meet people where they are

Someone who has already completed their IVF journey and has three leftover embryos is going to need different counsel than the young married couple who just had their second miscarriage and is now considering IVF. Both scenarios, and everything in between, need clear, compassionate, and convictional counseling in the truth of Scripture. Don’t think you are disqualified from giving counsel  because you haven’t lived through their exact circumstances. Where we meet people isn’t the authoritative grounds on which we stand but simply the starting point in ministering to them. Our authority is always the Word of the living God. Ultimately, the decisions we make must be made in light of the truth of God, not our subjective experience under the shadow of the fall.

Teach the Whole Counsel of God

This is where expositional preaching and teaching are your greatest allies. Such preaching, moving verse by verse through Scripture, disarms accusations of “political motivation,” grounding your teaching and application to the words of Scripture. Expositing the text of Scripture further equips them with the doctrines necessary to understand the issues of the day, such as IVF. A series through the first chapter of Genesis, for example, will present you with the opportunity to make many real-world applications that directly touch many of the issues within the ART, pro-life, and gender/marriage arenas; all issues about which the Bible speaks clearly. It’s even more urgent we instruct the flock in these key truths because the sheep are encountering these creational order issues on a daily basis. The church must therefore step up and equip its people to faithfully engage the world as it is.

Create space for studying doctrine

Expositional preaching will eventually cover everything, but sometimes issues are pressing, and your flock needs to be equipped more quickly than a sermon schedule will permit. Utilize the men’s fellowship to study a systematic theology that will provide the foundational and thorough study of theology to equip the church to be conversant and able to apply the Word to the ebbs and flows of cultural issues. Similarly, churches should reclaim the diminishing Sunday School hour to have classes devoted to training the saints. The elders who are entrusted with teaching their congregants can consider creative outlets like intensive labs or seminars that are topic specific to bioethics. Additionally, elders can trickle resources into the church by simply putting up a resource shelf to make key books and pamphlets accessible or consider adding a section to their church library for further study.

Conclusion

There’s much the church can do within their arsenal to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph 4:12–16), to contend for the faith (Jude 3), and to engage the world with the Word. What we cannot do is be silent and outsource what is meant to be primarily the church’s duty to the pundits of Washington or the talking heads delivering our news. We have this treasured, authoritative, inerrant, infallible Word of God which informs, textures, outlines, and guides our thinking about who creates life, when it is created, where it is created, the context in which that creation is blessed, the penalties for infringing upon that, and more. Why would we not take up this Word and wield it with faith and courage? The world may be fractured in its thinking. But God’s Word is not divided against itself. Christ and his Word can rightly unite the church to lead others in how to think and live when it comes to precarious and confusing issues like IVF.

^[1] For this general perspective see the following: Calder, Vanessa Brown, and Chelsea Follett. 2023. “Freeing American Families: Reforms to Make Family Life Easier and More Affordable.” Cato Policy Analysis (Washington, D.C) 955 (August). https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/freeing-american-families. And: Ponnuru, Ramesh, and Public Opinion. 2023. “On Welcoming Babies.” American Enterprise Institute. American Enterprise Institute – AEI, December 5. https://www.aei.org/op-eds/on-welcoming-babies/. And also: VerBruggen, Robert. 2025. “How ‘Pronatalism’ Could Divide the Right.” City Journal (New York, NY), May 5. https://www.city-journal.org/article/us-population-birthrates-fertility-pronatalism-conservatives-tech-right.

^[2] Waters, Emma. 2024. “Why the IVF Industry Must Be Regulated.” The Heritage Foundation, May 19. https://www.heritage.org/life/report/why-the-ivf-industry-must-be-regulated.

^[3] Epstein, Richard A., John Yoo, and Tom Church, hosts. 2024. Epstein, Yoo & Senik Law Talk: Social Media, IVF, Trump, And The Politics Of Disgorgement. Hoover Institute, March 1, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/research/social-media-ivf-trump-and-politics-disgorgement.

^[4] Emma Watters at The Heritage Foundation has provided the best summary of the state of the question as it pertains to status of Protestant discussion and assistant reproductive technology. The Heritage Foundation has also been the most consistent think tank to raise the moral concerns around the personhood of embryos. See Waters, Emma. n.d. “Protestant Denominations Need Stronger Leadership on Assisted Reproductive Technology.” The Heritage Foundation. Accessed March 30, 2026. https://www.heritage.org/marriage-and-family/commentary/protestant-denominations-need-stronger-leadership-assisted.

^[5] Maxouris, Christina. 2024. “Alabama Embryo Ruling: State Supreme Court Rules Frozen Embryos Are Children. Impacts Could Be Devastating, Critics Warn | CNN.” CNN, February 20. https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/20/us/alabama-embryo-law-ruling-supreme-court.

^[6] Beech, Eric. 2024. “Donald Trump Calls on Alabama Legislature to Find ‘immediate Solution’ to Preserve IVF | Reuters.” Reuters, February 23. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump-calls-alabama-legislature-find-immediate-solution-preserve-ivf-2024-02-23/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.

^[7] Wehner, Greg. 2025. “Trump Signs Executive Order to Make IVF More Affordable and Accessible | Fox News.” Fox News, February 18. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/promises-kept-trump-signs-executive-order-aggressively-make-ivf-more-affordable-accessible.

^[8] Mitov. 2026. “Federal Bill Could Expand Access to Fertility Services.” Who13.Com, March 27. https://who13.com/news/politics/iowa-politics/federal-bill-could-expand-access-to-fertility-services/.

^[9]  Brendix, Aria. 2025. “Trump Announces Plan to Lower the Cost of a Common IVF Drug.” NBC News, October 16. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/trump-ivf-fertility-drug-deal-lower-cost-rcna238013.

^[10] Bendix, Aria. 2025. “After IVF Nightmares, Patients Have Few Protections.” NBC News, NBC News, March 19. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/ivf-errors-legal-protections-nightmare-mistakes-lawsuits-rcna194215.

^[11] Walker, Andrew and Matthew Lee Anderson, 2019. “Breaking Evangelicalism’s Silence on IVF.” The Gospel Coalition, April 25. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/evangelicalisms-silence-ivf/.

^[12] Grudem, Wayne. 2019. “How IVF Can Be Morally Right.” The Gospel Coalition, April 25. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ivf-morally-right/.

^[13] Though I have encountered the so called “ethical IVF” argument many times in person, I have found very few who want to put their name to print behind any public resources created behind any such position. See the following web pages that argue for such a position, for example, but don’t attribute any author. I have observed this an in increasing trend in the ART space to hide behind anonymity. Fertility, C. N. Y. 2025. Christianity and IVF: How Faith and Fertility Align. November 1. https://www.cnyfertility.com/ivf-and-christianity/. See also “IVF: Moral and Ethical Considerations.” n.d. Focus on the Family. Accessed March 30, 2026. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/ivf-moral-and-ethical-considerations/.

^[14] Sparks, Justin. April 15, 2025. 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY. https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/hlrbillspdf/2404H.01I.pdf.