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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 326

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

326

MERCY

Resolved, That the LCMS call on the scientific and medical communities to discontinue the use of tissue from aborted children in all
vaccines; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS recognize a right to religious exemption
to individual members of the congregations of our Synod who wish to
refuse vaccinations containing aborted fetal tissue on moral grounds.
Circuit 7, Texas District; Holy Shepherd, Haslet TX;
Victory in Christ, Newark, TX; Grace, Parish, TX; Circuit
10, Texas District
3-04

To Create Task Force for Study
of In Vitro Fertilization
Whereas, God instituted marriage (Gen. 1–2); and
Whereas, He intended children to be born into families and raised
by their father and mother (Ex. 20:12); and
Whereas, Holy Scripture uses the term conception to mean the
union of the male and female gametes (i.e., sperm and egg; Gen.
16:4); and
Whereas, Holy Scripture shows that human life begins at conception (Ps. 139:13; Matt. 1:20; Luke 2:21); and
Whereas, In vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure used by many
people as a fertility treatment, fertilizes human eggs outside the mother’s body, separating conception from coitus; and
Whereas, the collection of sperm for IVF requires either masturbation or coitus interruptus, further separating the creation of human
beings from the God-given context of mutual bodily self-giving; and
Whereas, IVF does not heal the bodies of the barren husband or
wife but increases a woman’s risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and some cancers through the overstimulation of her
ovaries in order to produce excess eggs, contrary to nature; and
Whereas, IVF increases the risk of major birth defects, motor
abnormalities, mental disorders, hormonal abnormalities, and stillbirth in children; and
Whereas, God forbids the taking of innocent human lives (Gen.
9:5−6; Ex. 20:13); and
Whereas, Embryos produced in IVF are being exposed to mortal danger outside of their mother’s womb, with the vast majority of
them dying during the process of cryopreservation (i.e., freezing); and
Whereas, Embryos produced in IVF are subject to being graded
by their appearance for their viability; genetically tested for their sex,
chromosomal abnormalities, and diseases; and killed for eugenic reasons; and
Whereas, Embryos produced in IVF may be cryopreserved in
liquid nitrogen and, if part of a multiple pregnancy, aborted for the
vitality of a perceived stronger brother or sister in the womb; and
Whereas, IVF procedures are, on average, only 30 percent successful in bringing about a live birth; and
Whereas, The high cost of IVF cycles provides a large financial
incentive to overproduce embryos and cryopreserve some for future
implantation, causing many of the embryos to die during the freezing process and leaving others vulnerable to be bought and sold as
commodities to be gestated in any womb; and
Whereas, IVF clinics routinely cryopreserve and discard thousands of embryonic children each year*; and
Whereas, Thousands of these cryopreserved embryos are abandoned by their parents; and
Whereas, Participating in any IVF procedure at these clinics
supports them as a whole, including their discarding and freezing of
embryonic children; therefore be it
2016 Convention Workbook

Resolved, That the President of the Synod appoint a task force
consisting of the chair of LCMS Life Ministries, a representative
from Lutherans For Life, a representative from the CTCR, a representative from each of our Synod’s seminaries, and other members
of LCMS congregations who have expertise in medicine, ethics, or
theology; and be it further
Resolved, That this task force study IVF and whether it is permissible; and be it finally
Resolved, That this task force present a report answering this question, to be considered and adopted by the 2019 LCMS convention.
Emmaus, St. Louis, MO; Good Shepherd, Sherman, IL
*An April 2002 survey by RAND Corp. showed approximately 400,000
embryos were being stored: http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/
RB9038/index1.html. A 2011 survey by the Social Science Research Center
showed approximately 612,000 embryos were being stored: https://www.
nightlight.org/spotlight/embryo-adoption-census-report-registration/. This
demonstrates that an average of 23,500 embryos are being frozen each year.

3-05

To Commend Participation in 2017
LCMS Life Conference
Whereas, The Bible clearly states that the child in a mother’s
womb is a living human being (Jer. 1:5; Ps. 139:16; Is. 49:1, 5; Luke
1:41, 44); and
Whereas, Christians are called “to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Prov. 31:8–9); and
Whereas, The Fifth Commandment, “You shall not murder,”
along with the Small Catechism’s explanation “not to hurt or harm
our neighbor, but help and support him in every physical need” direct
us to celebrate life and educate ourselves in how we can help and support our neighbor; and
Whereas, 2010 Res. 6-02A called upon the LCMS Sanctity of
Human Life Committee to convene a conference “that will provide
encouragement to all LCMS members currently involved in elective
and legislative processes and help them to be more vocal about prolife issues, and that will equip and encourage more LCMS members
to become involved in the governmental process of our country”; and
Whereas, LCMS Life Ministries has successfully conducted such
conferences in 2013 and 2015 and is planning another conference for
January 27–29, 2017; and
Whereas, This upcoming conference’s schedule over a weekend
will make it somewhat easier for lay participation but more challenging for broad participation among full-time church workers serving
in parishes—for pastors in particular; and
Whereas, The fastest growing segment of those affirming in the
public square God’s gift of life are those of high school and college
age; therefore be it
Resolved, That we, the Board of Directors of the Central Illinois
District of the LCMS, thank LCMS Life Ministries and commend
them for their past life conferences; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage each circuit of our district to have at
least one pastor, one lay person, and one high-school- or college-age
youth attend LCMS Life Conference 2017; and be it finally
Resolved, That we memorialize the 2016 LCMS convention to
adopt the above resolution.
Board of Directors
Central Illinois District