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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged

Does God oppose in vitro fertilization?: Religions hold differing views, according to the Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein:

In an Alabama Supreme Court ruling equating IVF embryos with people, Chief Justice Tom Parker cited arguments from across the planet and the centuries, all leading to one source for the court’s judgment: “God.”

In his concurring opinion, Parker quoted the Book of Genesis, an obscure 17th-century Dutch Protestant theologian and Italian Catholic philosopher Thomas Aquinas, positing that Christianity, at least, is in full agreement as to when a human life starts and that God views the ending of one as a personal affront.

Yet major religious denominations actually hold varied views about IVF, as do Americans, including those in the conservative Christian circles to which Parker belongs.

“While Catholic teaching expressly forbids in vitro fertilization, Protestants tend to be more open,” the New York Times’ Elizabeth Dias points out.

This piece is useful and also a reminder of one of the weirdest aspects of US abortion politics, which is that the very specific (and quite distinct) sexual theology of the Catholic Church has been widely adopted by evangelical protestants. https://t.co/QFQlakIExE

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) February 26, 2024

Where Christians stand: The Alabama ruling “claimed to be Christian. Christians aren’t so sure.”

That’s the synopsis from Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins.

“Theological opinions on IVF, let alone political ones, are difficult to ascertain and are far from universal across denominations,” Jenkins notes.

In the wake of the recent Alabama ruling regarding frozen embryos, I tried to assess Christian and other religious views on IVF.

A hint: MOST U.S. Christians support abortion access, but IVF is *not* universally considered an abortion by people of faith. https://t.co/ArOsQQr05e

— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) February 27, 2024

Constitutional implications: The Alabama chief justice’s reasoning in the case has sparked alarm over church-state separation — or the lack thereof, Associated Press religion writers Peter Smith and Tiffany Stanley explain.

Even before the decision, Ericka Andersen detailed for Christianity Today earlier this year “How IVF made its way into evangelical pro-life debates.”

Alabama ruled that frozen embryos qualify as children, leading several clinics to pause IVF treatments. Reproductive-rights advocates have cautioned that the implications could be even broader. https://t.co/yy8bM42Hbp

— WSJ Politics (@WSJPolitics) March 1, 2024

A final note: At least 13 states are moving legislation that considers embryos people, the Wall Street Journal’s Kara Dapena and Maureen Linke report.

Read the full column.

This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.

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