IVF presents challenges for some anti-abortion Christians who believe life begins at fertilization. Dr. John Gordon is a Christian IVF doctor. He grew troubled over moral dilemmas in traditional IVF and now runs a faith-based fertility clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Here's how to vet claimsThe barista is human but an AI agent runs this experimental Swedish cafeRejecting church and state separation is on the wish list for Trump's religious liberty commissionStarmer bajo presión tras desastre electoral para el laborismo y el auge de Reform UKSarah Atkinson, senior embryologist and lab supervisor at Rejoice Fertility, takes a cryo device containing a patient’s frozen embryo from a preservation tank before an embryo transfer, Jan. 11, 2026, at Rejoice Fertility in Knoxville, Tenn. Dr. John Gordon talks with patient Maggie Lichfield after an ultrasound at Rejoice Fertility, Jan. 9, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sarah Atkinson, senior embryologist and lab supervisor, shows an embryo while preparing for a transfer at Rejoice Fertility, Jan. 11, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. Sarah Atkinson, senior embryologist and lab supervisor at Rejoice Fertility, takes a cryo device containing a patient’s frozen embryo from a preservation tank before an embryo transfer, Jan. 11, 2026, at Rejoice Fertility in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sarah Atkinson, senior embryologist and lab supervisor at Rejoice Fertility, takes a cryo device containing a patient’s frozen embryo from a preservation tank before an embryo transfer, Jan. 11, 2026, at Rejoice Fertility in Knoxville, Tenn. Dr. John Gordon talks with patient Maggie Lichfield after an ultrasound at Rejoice Fertility, Jan. 9, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn.
Dr. John Gordon talks with patient Maggie Lichfield after an ultrasound at Rejoice Fertility, Jan. 9, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. Sarah Atkinson, senior embryologist and lab supervisor, shows an embryo while preparing for a transfer at Rejoice Fertility, Jan. 11, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. Sarah Atkinson, senior embryologist and lab supervisor, shows an embryo while preparing for a transfer at Rejoice Fertility, Jan. 11, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn.
Dr. John Gordon, a Christian IVF doctor, was co-director of a large fertility clinic when he started to have doubts about his profession. He was troubled over helping create surplus embryos, which would often languish in storage or be discarded. With the expansion of genetic testing, couples could choose the sex of their baby. They could screen out painful or fatal diseases, but also milder impairments like hearing loss.
“What are children? ” he asked recently.
“I mean, are they a gift from the Lord or are they just a product where you’re trying to manufacture the best product you can? ”is an assisted reproductive technology that combines sperm and egg in a lab to create an embryo. The embryo can be frozen and later transferred to a patient’s uterus in hopes of achieving a pregnancy.
More than 100,000 U.S. babies were born through IVF in 2024, the most recorded in a single year, according to a recent announcement from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Medical experts estimate about 1.5 million frozen embryos are stored in the U.S., though advocates say that number could be higher. For Christians and anti-abortion activists who believe life begins with fertilization, IVF can present challenges because of the risks it poses to embryos.
Some Christians also believe reproduction should not be separated from marital sex, making IVF and some fertility interventions off-limits. Gordon belongs to the Presbyterian Church in America, an evangelical Reformed denomination. His local church has been supportive of Rejoice’s mission. Gordon believes his practice addresses many moral concerns.
As he said, “I need to practice in a way that I can I live with the decisions I’m making. ”Rejoice tries to limit surplus embryos. Gordon asks patients for their ideal family size and tailors their treatment around it. His patients often choose minimal stimulation IVF, or “mini-IVF,” which uses less fertility medication and generally results in fewer eggs.
Patients may then opt to fertilize fewer eggs, yielding fewer embryos. Patients can also choose natural cycle IVF, which retrieves one egg produced during a woman’s regular monthly cycle. Other clinics offer these options but Rejoice is unusual in prioritizing them. The downside is if patients go through their limited embryos and need another IVF cycle, which typically costs between $8,000 and 10,000 at Rejoice.
Despite that expense, Gordon said his patients largely want to create fewer embryos because of their beliefs. In rare cases when his patients have unused embryos, Gordon asks them to be placed for adoption. Embryo donations are known asThe clinic recently launched Rejoice Embryo Rescue, which Gordon calls an “orphanage. ” The clinic stores donated embryos and works with agencies, most of them Christian, that specialize in coordinating embryo adoptions.
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