The Pulpit Is Responsible: Why You've Never Heard a Sermon on IVF

Most pastors never preach on IVF. That silence is devastating to life, families, and the church’s witness. Here’s why—and what you must do now.

You’re Not Imagining It: The Pulpit Has Been Silent

When was the last time you heard a sermon on in vitro fertilization?

If you’re like most pro-life Christians, the answer is never. You’ve heard powerful preaching against abortion. You’ve been taught that life begins at conception. You know the church’s position on the sanctity of human life.

But IVF? Crickets.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a pastor preach against IVF from the pulpit. Ever. Not once.

This isn’t isolated. It’s nearly universal. In all my years of faithful church attendance, listening to biblical teaching on life issues, I cannot recall a single sermon addressing IVF. Not one message explaining what it is, how it works, or why it matters. Not one prophetic word naming the destruction happening in fertility clinics across America.

And the silence is costly.

The Hidden Catastrophe Your Pastor Hasn’t Told You About

While the pulpit has remained silent, the IVF industry has been destroying human life at a staggering scale.

Consider these numbers from 2023 SART data:

9 million embryos created through IVF in the United States
Only 95,860 babies born — a 2.5% success rate
Approximately 1.9 million embryos destroyed during testing or screening
Another 1.7 million frozen, discarded, donated to research, or abandoned

That means roughly 3.7 million embryos were destroyed or indefinitely frozen in a single year — nearly four times the number of lives lost to abortion in 2023.

Since IVF was introduced in 1978, an estimated 270 million embryos have been destroyed globally.

Let that sink in. While we’ve marched for life, lobbied against abortion, and proclaimed every life sacred, the fertility industry has quietly created and destroyed more human embryos than abortion clinics — and most Christians have no idea.

Why? Because the pulpit has been silent.

Why Pastoral Silence on IVF Is Devastating

Pastoral silence on IVF is not neutral. It actively harms in four critical ways:

1. It Breeds Moral Confusion

Without biblical teaching, most Christians assume IVF is a blessing. They celebrate babies born without asking what happened to the other embryos. They don’t know that for every IVF baby born, approximately 40 embryos were created — and 39 were destroyed, frozen, or abandoned.

When the pulpit doesn’t teach, the culture does.

And the culture says IVF is beautiful, hopeful, life-giving. The culture never mentions destroyed embryos. The culture never asks whether we have the right to manufacture life outside marriage.

So God’s people — untaught and unwarned — follow the culture into practices that violate the principles they claim to uphold.

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2. It Weakens the Pro-Life Witness

You cannot defend life at conception while supporting a practice that destroys life after fertilization. You cannot march against abortion while remaining silent about an industry that creates and discards more embryos annually than abortion clinics destroy.

The inconsistency is glaring. The world sees it.

When the church defends the unborn in the womb but says nothing about the unborn in the freezer, our witness loses credibility. Our message becomes hollow. We look like hypocrites who care more about politics than principle.

If we truly believe life begins at fertilization, we must defend every fertilized life — whether in a womb or in a lab.

3. It Abandons Hurting Families

Many couples in your church have turned to IVF. Some did so out of desperation. Others out of ignorance, never hearing that IVF involves embryo destruction. Still others believed they were doing something blessed by God because it resulted in a baby.

But without biblical teaching, these families remain in the dark. They don’t know embryos were discarded. They don’t know their fertility doctor created more lives than were implanted. They don’t know frozen embryos still exist in storage.

Because the pulpit has been silent, they have no framework for understanding what happened. They carry confusion. Some carry shame. Some carry unspoken grief over discarded embryos. But they have nowhere to bring these burdens because the church has never addressed the issue.

Silence doesn’t protect hurting families. It abandons them.

4. It Cedes Moral Authority to the Culture

If pastors won’t speak on IVF, doctors and policymakers will. And they already are.

Right now, laws are being written to expand IVF access. Tax dollars are funding embryo-destructive procedures. State supreme courts like Alabama have ruled that frozen embryos are children. State legislatures are debating whether IVF clinics can be held liable for destroying embryos..

And the church? Silent.

God gave the church — not the state, not the scientists — the responsibility to speak truth. When we don’t, we surrender moral authority. We shouldn’t be surprised when the world makes decisions without us.

The Pulpit Is Responsible

We’ve said it before at the Virginia Christian Alliance: the pulpit is responsible.

1 Corinthians 14:8 — If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

Pastors have been given the responsibility to teach the whole counsel of God. Not just the comfortable parts. Not just the popular parts. All of it.

Right now, on one of the most critical life issues of our time, the trumpet is silent.

But You Are Not Powerless

Here’s the truth most Christians don’t realize: You have more influence than you think.

Your pastor will preach on IVF when:

Congregation members ask about it
The elder board requests it
People share testimonies needing pastoral guidance
The issue becomes unavoidable

Pastors respond to their sheep. And you are their sheep.

The question is: Will you use your voice?

Here’s What You Can Do THIS WEEK

Don’t just read and move on. Don’t just feel convicted and do nothing. Don’t assume someone else will fix this.

You can be the catalyst for change in your church. Here are four concrete actions:

Action 1: Send Your Pastor This Email

Copy, paste, personalize, and send THIS WEEK:

Subject: Request for Biblical Teaching on IVF

Dear Pastor [Name],

I’ve been learning about in vitro fertilization, and I realize I’ve never heard biblical teaching on this from our pulpit.

I recently learned that in 2023, approximately 3.9 million embryos were created through IVF in the United States, but only 95,860 babies were born — meaning roughly 3.7 million embryos were destroyed, frozen, or abandoned. That’s nearly four times the number of lives lost to abortion in the same year.

As someone who believes life begins at fertilization, I’m struggling to understand how to think biblically about this. I know many couples in our church have faced infertility, and some may have pursued or considered IVF. I think we need clarity.

Would you consider addressing this in a sermon or teaching series? I believe our congregation needs biblical guidance on this critical life issue.

Thank you for faithfully shepherding us. I’m grateful for your ministry.

In Christ,
[Your Name]