Posted at Purely Presbyterian:
The Glory of Christian Fertility
Faithful Christians highly value marriage and children. We find in the Bible that marriage was designed by God for three purposes: 1. The mutual help and companionship of husband and wife (Gen. 2:18; Matt. 19:6). 2. The increase of the human race through lawful offspring (Gen. 1:28), and the growth of the Church through a godly seed (Mal. 2:15). And 3. the avoidance of sexual immorality (1 Cor. 7:2, 9).1 And the Bible could not be more clear about the value and blessing of children: “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3-5).Having and raising children is a great blessing! And so when Christians find out that they are unable to conceive, it can be very depressing and painful. Some may try many different methods, through much prayer and tears, and yet still cannot get pregnant. While adoption is also a great blessing and a mercy to many orphaned children, Christian couples often still want to conceive their own children. In these cases Christians may turn to In Vitro Fertilization in order to help conceive children of their own.
What is IVF?
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is “a procedure in which eggs are removed from a woman’s ovary and combined with sperm outside the body to form embryos. The embryos are grown in the laboratory for several days and then either placed in a woman’s uterus or cryopreserved (frozen) for future use.”2 Only when the embryo implants itself into the uterine wall does pregnancy occur.3 “IVF can be done using a couple’s own eggs and sperm. Or it may involve eggs, sperm, or embryos from a known or unknown donor. In some cases, a gestational carrier… might be used.”4 That is, a woman who carries another’s baby until birth and then permanently gives the baby to someone else to raise. “In vitro” is Latin for “in glass,” that is, in a test tube or petri dish.IVF is becoming more widely used every year. In 2023, there were 95,860 births of children conceived by IVF, accounting for 2.6% of births in the United States.5 A 2024 Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans overwhelmingly support IVF. “Seven-in-ten adults say IVF access is a good thing. Just 8% say it is a bad thing, while 22% are unsure.” IVF support among Christians does not differ widely from the national percentages.6 And in 2025 President Trump “promised to increase access to IVF and lower the associated costs so American families can have more babies, building on his record of supporting family formation and stability.”7
IVF may seem like a miracle of modern medicine, but when we analyze it in light of Biblical truth, we will see that it is not without serious ethical and theological problems.