What do policies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) suggest about the moral status of the human embryo?
Friday, October 13, 2023
3:15 PM – 4:30 PM ET
Location: Essex C (Fourth Floor)
It is common and understandable to group religious pro-life groups together. However, while important similarities are obvious, this move risks obscuring differences that make a difference. I will look at the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to explore how its newly explicit policies on in vitro fertilization and its statements on abortion post-Dobbs suggest an evolving perspective on the moral status of the human embryo. Unlike some denominations that champion life as beginning at conception, Latter-day Saints have taken the position that they have no position on when life begins. Because of the church’s commitment to continuing revelation, this no-position position is subject to change. The church’s newly explicit acceptance of in vitro fertilization (with the gametes from within a marriage and for the purpose of growing one’s family) might be thought to herald such a change. However, official statements on abortion re-affirmed post Dobbs suggest that the church’s opposition to abortion is strong and will continue to be durable. I will focus on a minor change in the Church’s statements about abortion post Dobbs, a key “therefore” that wasn’t there before, that helps explain the reasoning behind the abortion and in vitro fertilization policies which would otherwise appear to be in tension.
Angela Faulconer, PhD – Visiting Assistant Professor, Philosophy, Brigham Young University