November 4, 2025
PassionLife promotes embryo adoption as a ‘beautiful solution’ to snowflake babies in IVF freezers
‘If the embryos in freezers are human beings, which they are after conception, then they need to be treated as human beings’
MARIETTA, Ga. — Modern scientific advancements have made amazing strides in fertility medicine, including the process of in vitro fertilization, or IVF. While an incredible feat, many pro-life advocates do not promote IVF as a fertility method, as it raises the question of the morality of leaving the unused, fertilized human embryos in a freezer. Instead, embryo adoption offers a humane, God-honoring option for couples looking to start a family, and thankfully, interest in the process has increased tremendously.
Instead of creating more human life in labs, PassionLife, a pro-life global missions partner to missionaries and indigenous Christian leaders living in countries where abortion and infanticide are especially concentrated,encourages prospective parents to consider embryo adoption. By implanting already-created embryos, frozen babies can leave the confines of the freezer and have a chance at life. Couples desperate for children can provide happy homes for those in need, and parents who have gone through IVF and are emotionally stuck between destroying their “leftovers” and paying endlessly to store them in the freezer can know they provided for all their little ones.
“While I discourage people from using IVF, I strongly support those who might consider adoption to think about embryo adoption,” said PassionLife President Pastor John Ensor. “In the many countries PassionLife works in, we continue to apply biblical pro-life ethics to issues like abortion, IVF and embryo adoption. Many of these countries are struggling with infertility and an alarming drop in birth rates. Embryo adoption is a viable and beautiful solution worth considering. There are millions of frozen human beings — sometimes called ‘snowflake babies’ — who need a chance to live. At the same time, there are millions of women and couples struggling with infertility. Embryo adoption brings these two together in a life-affirming way.”
The tragedy of IVF, and what makes it wrong, is that it creates millions of human beings in the process, who are treated as property rather than with human rights and dignity. As such, they are left (abandoned) in the freezer waiting for a future that might never come. Unfortunately, many facilities sell embryos for research or simply throw away the dozen or more frozen embryos left over after the couple who made them are done having children. The need for embryo adoption grows clearer when people recognize that there is no morally significant difference between a 3-day embryo, a 3-month preborn child or a 3-year-old toddler.
“If the embryos in freezers are human beings, which they are after conception, then they need to be treated as human beings,” concluded Ensor. “We need to treat them the way we would want ourselves to be treated. Just as we value and honor the adoption process for children outside the womb, we must celebrate those who adopt embryos.”
Since 2010, PassionLife has worked as a pro-life global missions partner to missionaries, pastors and Christian leaders in China, Romania, Cuba, India, Vietnam and other countries where the plague of abortion, infanticide and gendercide is especially concentrated. In such places, PassionLife disciples people in a Biblical worldview of human value, teaches them how to make a case for life in a secular culture, shows how abortion guilt and grief are an entry point for the Gospel’s offer of forgiveness and freedom, and provides models of pregnancy crisis intervention services that they can adapt to their culture and neighborhood.
In recent years, PassionLife’s Tiny Baby© fetal model, the world’s littlest missionary, has been handed out to tens of thousands of pastors and leaders and other places where abortion is especially concentrated. It travels, hand to hand, dispelling misinformation about the humanity of the unborn, highlighting the intricate beauty of human life and proclaiming the humanity all humans share.
“PassionLife,” a new half-hour show in partnership with NRBTV, highlights the ministry’s work around the globe, revealing how dedicated staff and volunteers teach the Gospel of Life to those in the most vulnerable situations. The show airs every Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. EST.
John Ensor, an ordained Evangelical pastor, has been a leader in the pro-life movement for over 30 years as a speaker, author, mentor and co-laborer. John serves as the President of PassionLife, where he concentrates on helping missionaries and indigenous Christian leaders serving in countries plagued by abortion to equip the church in bioethics and pregnancy crisis intervention services. He has been recognized in the “Legacy of Life” book as one of the fifty greatest pro-life leaders of the last 50 years. John is the co-host of the “PassionLife Podcast” with PassionLife Executive Director, Mark Nicholson. Together, they discuss ministry updates and provide commentary on global current events.
For more information, visit the PassionLife website at https://www.passionlife.org/.
###
To schedule interviews with a representative from PassionLife, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096 ext. 105, Dawn Foglein, ext. 100, or Jeff Tolson, ext. 108.
