Bishop James D. Conley: Of IVF and the Full Gospel of Life

By Bishop James D. Conley, The Catholic Thing, November 3, 2025

The Most Rev. James D. Conley is Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, National Episcopal Advisor to the Catholic Medical Association, and Chair of the Episcopal Advisory Board of the Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance.

President Trump recently announced measures to expand access to and reduce costs associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is being billed as a pro-family and pro-life effort to help “American families have more babies.” While the intention and goal are noble, IVF, in fact, undermines human dignity, marriage, and family life for a variety of reasons.

But first, a word to those conceived through IVF, those struggling with infertility and, by extension, those wrestling with this aspect of the Church’s teaching, which can seem counterintuitive, confusing, and even harsh.

• For anyone conceived through IVF, know that you are a gift, not just to your parents but to us all. Regardless of how someone was conceived, every human person is made in the image and likeness of God and therefore is loved by God and shares in the same inviolable dignity as each one of us. …

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