The largest Protestant denomination in the country voted this week to oppose in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
FOX News reported that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) “passed a resolution on Wednesday opposing the use of IVF technology due to the regular destruction of human embryos in the process.”
The SBC titled its resolution, passed during its annual meeting in Indianapolis, “On the Ethical Realities of Reproductive Technologies and the Dignity of the Human Embryo.”
“Southern Baptists have historically affirmed the value of every human life and opposed the use of technology that disregards the sanctity of human life,” it stated.
“The [IVF] process routinely generates more embryos than can be safely implanted, thus resulting in the continued freezing, stockpiling, and ultimate destruction of human embryos, some of whom may also be subjected to medical experimentation,” the resolution continued:
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[IVF] most often participates in the destruction of embryonic human life and increasingly engages in dehumanizing methods for determining suitability for life and genetic sorting, based on notions of genetic fitness and parental preferences
…
Estimates suggest that between 1 million and 1.5 million human beings are currently stored in cryogenic freezers in an embryonic state throughout the United States, with most unquestionably destined for eventual destruction
The SBC went on to state that it “affirm[s] all children, no matter the circumstances of their conception, are gifts from God and loved by him.”
“[W]e call on Southern Baptists to love all of their neighbors … and to advocate for the government to restrain actions inconsistent with the dignity and value of every human being, which necessarily includes frozen embryonic human beings,” the Convention added.
The resolution encouraged “Southern Baptists to continue to promote adoption … and to consider adopting frozen embryos in order to rescue those who are eventually to be destroyed.”
The Convention concluded:
[W]e grieve alongside couples who have been diagnosed with infertility or are currently struggling to conceive, affirm their godly desire for children, and encourage them to consider the ethical implications of assisted reproductive technologies as they look to God for hope, grace, and wisdom amid suffering
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[W]e commend couples who at great cost have earnestly sought to only utilize infertility treatments and reproductive technologies in ways consistent with the dignity of the human embryo as well as those who have adopted frozen embryos
In the resolution, the SBC cited several verses from Scripture to support its stance opposing IVF – including from the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Judges, the First Book of Samuel, the Gospel of Luke, and the Epistle to the Romans.
The SBC recorded just shy of 13 million members in 2023.
Its resolution passed the same day all 49 Republican U.S. senators signed a statement supporting the nationwide legality and availability of IVF. Of these senators, seven were Southern Baptists and 12 were Catholics.
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