04/23/2026
Every Sunday at Martini, we pray that the Lord would help us to keep holy and precious the gift of life, from conception until natural death. How do we do this? We learn about challenges affecting infants, the elderly, everyone in between, and ethical questions surrounding these areas so that we can make a strong and faithful confession as Christians.
One strong and faithful statement about life issues that I recently saw was given by Lutherans for Life, the premier confessional Lutheran pro-life organization. Specifically, this statement addresses in vitro fertilization (IVF), a technology that proposes to address fertility and conception issues without treating underlying health concerns or addressing biological realities. It is hardly a neutral or ethically simple issue, and it is one for the faithful Christian to wrestle with and learn about.
IVF has gotten a lot of political play, even from the current federal administration, and proponents like to claim that it’s “pro-life” because it often results in the conception of a child. But how many children are killed in an effort to conceive one child? How many embryos are indefinitely put away in cold storage? If this is news to you, then I’d encourage you to do some homework.
Babies and children are neither commodities nor rights. As Christians, we accept with faith and sometimes suffering and grief that not every prayer offered receives a “yes” from God, including marriage and children. However, a “no” in one area may be a “yes” and an opportunity in others. We learn to give thanks for all that God gives us as our loving heavenly Father and ask that He change our hearts and minds as we strive to be reconciled to His will and His Word in all things. I personally and unequivocally support the following statement and encourage you to consider the same.
- Pastor Jaseph
The following is Lutherans for Life’s statement, revised in February 2026, regarding IVF in its entirety. You may find the source of this document and others at their website- https://lutheransforlife.org
WHEREAS, Life is a gift from God (Psalm 127:3, 139:13-16; John 1:1-4; SC Creed, First
Article); and
WHEREAS, God’s will is to bestow life through the procreative one-flesh union of one man and
one woman (Genesis 2:18-24; Ruth 4:13; Matthew 19:5); and
WHEREAS, When Adam fell, he brought pain and sorrow in childbearing, which, in addition to
physical pain and death, may also include infertility, upon women and their families (Genesis 3:16); and
WHEREAS, God, in His hidden will, occasionally closes the womb (Genesis 16:2, 20:18, 30:2; 1
Samuel 1:5-6); and
WHEREAS, God has written His Law in the hearts of men and women (i.e. Natural Law; c.f.
Romans 1:18-20, 2:14-15), and thus, the desire for children is fully ingrained in humanity and is a truly Godly desire when expressed in the context of the marriage of one man and one woman (Genesis 1:27-28; Exodus 20:14; AC XXIII 5; LC Ten Commandments 207) in recognition of His gift; and
WHEREAS, In an attempt to circumvent the condition of infertility, medical researchers and
clinicians have developed in-vitro fertilization (henceforth, IVF), in which s***m and egg cells (collectively called gametes) are combined in the laboratory, resulting in the formation of embryos, each of which is a fully human sinner for whom Christ died (Psalm 51:5); and
WHEREAS, The harvesting of s***m cells is most frequently accomplished through
ma********on, which is ethically concerning, and in cases of male infertility, various invasive techniques may be utilized; and
WHEREAS, The harvesting of egg cells involves the use of intensive medication, which hyper-
stimulates the ovaries, causing them to release up to 20 eggs per cycle, rather than the usual 1, and this use of medication to generate multiple egg cells may result in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome which can be moderate to severe in 1-5% of cases, or even fatal; and
WHEREAS, To assist women older than 35 years of age whose egg cells are no longer able to be
fertilized, or same-sex couples, or others who desire genetically-related children, researchers are working on developing in-vitro gametogenesis (henceforth, IVG), in
which the DNA from other cells in the body (for example, skin) is introduced into the egg cell of a third-party donor; and
WHEREAS, The embryos that are formed are monitored and graded by their appearance in a
microscope, and some may undergo genetic testing, and those deemed unfit for any
reason are destroyed, thus incorporating eugenics into the process; and
WHEREAS, Typically, 2-5 embryos are transferred to the woman, increasing the likelihood that one will be implanted; the remainder are either killed and discarded in medical waste, donated for experiments that kill and destroy them, or frozen for future
transfers; furthermore, there is a risk of mortality associated with freezing, and in the
end, the death of any embryo is the death of a human being; and
WHEREAS, IVF/IVG bypass God’s design of the one-flesh union of one man and one woman for
procreation, and often (always in IVG) introduces third and even fourth parties when
donor gametes are used; and
WHEREAS, IVF may intentionally separate the child from one or both biological parents (see for example the LFL Position Statement on Surrogacy); and
WHEREAS, There is a risk at fertilization of using the wrong gametes, or at transfer of
transferring the wrong embryos; and
WHEREAS, Many clinics proceed with IVF without diagnosing the reason for infertility, and in some underlying disorders, the transfer of an embryo may result in the introduction
of the embryo into a hostile intrauterine environment that affords him/her little
chance of survival; and
WHEREAS, God occasionally implants more than one of the transferred embryos into the womb,
leading to multiple pregnancies and recommendations on the part of many OBGYN
physicians for “selective reduction,” namely the killing of “excess babies” by
abortion; furthermore, not every embryo that is transferred is implanted, and thus
dies in the process of the transfer; and
WHEREAS, IVF is associated with increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, even after
adjusting for maternal characteristics and multiple pregnancies; and
WHEREAS, IVF is associated with increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, congenital
malformations, and neonatal death, though the limited long-term data appear
reassuring; and
WHEREAS, IVF prioritizes adult desires over the rights of the children; and
WHEREAS, Embryos resulting from IVF are treated as property and not as human beings with the God-given rights to life and dignity; and
WHEREAS, Many who claim to be pro-life vigorously support the expansion of IVF, in spite of the vast numbers of children who are killed in the process; and
WHEREAS, In the end, IVF and IVG usurp the role of God as the creator of life (Genesis 3:5); therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Lutherans For Life opposes IVF and IVG; and be it further
RESOLVED, That Lutherans For Life acknowledges that children resulting from IVF (and in the future from IVG/IVF, if the technology is implemented) are ones for whom Christ died, are precious to God, and are ones with whom He has richly blessed our communities; and be it further
RESOLVED, that Lutherans For Life thanks God for couples who desire to bear children, and
fully recognizes the deep pain and sorrow suffered by those impacted by infertility; and be it further
RESOLVED, That Lutherans For Life encourages couples who are infertile to seek out physicians
who will attempt to diagnose and apply God’s First-Article gifts to treat any disorders that have rendered them infertile; and be it further
RESOLVED, That Lutherans For Life encourages those who lack a reversible cause for their
infertility, to find worth and purpose in God’s love, take comfort in the Christian community, and accept God’s “no” to biological children as a vocation to benefit the neighbor in another way, possibly including fostering and/or adopting; and be it further
RESOLVED, That couples who are not able to bear children be allowed to grieve and wrestle with God, and that the Church bear these crosses along with the couple; and be it further
RESOLVED, That couples who have used IVF and some of whose young children remain frozen, consider bringing them to birth, or allowing for their adoption by couples willing
and eager so to do; and be it further
RESOLVED, That for those couples who have used IVF and sincerely regret having done so, there is forgiveness at the foot of the Cross; Lutherans For Life encourages them to
confess to their Pastor and receive God’s absolution through him.
Lutherans For Life exists to equip Lutherans and their neighbors to be Gospel-motivated voices For Life. We do this through our quarterly journal, “LifeDate,” countless resources produced for local congregations, Life Sunday materials, speaking and preaching, online Chats 4Life, Frontline confer...
