Tennessee Doctor Aligns IVF Practice With Christian Beliefs on Embryos

A reproductive endocrinologist in Knoxville, Tennessee, altered his approach to in vitro fertilization after developing concerns about the creation and handling of embryos. Dr. John Gordon had practiced for 30 years before concluding that helping to create surplus embryos, which often remained in storage or were discarded, posed moral problems.

He also grew troubled by the expansion of genetic testing that allowed selection based on sex or milder impairments such as hearing loss in addition to serious diseases. In 2018 his wife encouraged him to change how he practiced, citing their shared belief in the sanctity of embryos. He purchased an existing practice in Knoxville and reoriented it as Rejoice Fertility.

The clinic does not discard viable embryos, does not perform genetic testing on them, does not donate them to science, and limits the number created in each cycle. The changes occurred alongside broader public debate over IVF. Recent court rulings have raised questions about the legal status of embryos, including the U.S.

Supreme Court decision ending federal abortion rights and an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that designated embryos as children. Polling shows IVF remains widely popular, and President Donald Trump has taken steps to expand access to it. Rejoice Fertility draws patients from around the country.

The waiting room contains evangelical brochures and a wooden cross. The clinic does not require employees or patients to share the doctor's religious beliefs. Patients have cited the clinic's policies as aligning with their faith.

They said they appreciated that the clinic does not genetically test or discard embryos. "You're still letting God be God," Maggie Lichfield said.

Domenic and Olivia D'Agostino drove nearly two hours to reach the clinic after deciding against conventional IVF for religious reasons. They had not known that a facility avoiding embryo discard existed. "That was the biggest one for me because in my eyes there's not much difference between discarding an embryo and abortion," Domenic D'Agostino said.

He added that the doctor prays with patients before transfers, a practice the couple values. He met his wife at Duke.

After their oldest son recovered from a life-threatening illness, the couple joined a Presbyterian church and the doctor was baptized in 2000. They now belong to a congregation in the Presbyterian Church in America. His wife oversees the laboratory at Rejoice Fertility.

The lab accepts embryos in nearly any condition. The clinic once provided care for an embryo frozen for nearly 31 years; the child born in 2025 is believed to hold the record for longest-frozen embryo to result in a live birth. The doctor tailors treatment to patients' desired family size and offers cycles that use less medication, which tends to produce fewer eggs and lower costs.

Patients may also choose to fertilize fewer eggs. These options exist at other clinics but receive unusual emphasis at Rejoice Fertility. A cycle at the clinic typically costs between $8,000 and $10,000.

Some patients require additional cycles if the limited number of embryos does not result in pregnancy. Emily Martin, a patient in Knoxville, said she wishes she had used the clinic earlier after being left with embryos in storage from treatment elsewhere. In cases where patients have unused embryos, the doctor encourages placement for adoption.

The clinic stores donated embryos and coordinates with Christian agencies that arrange embryo adoptions. One couple from Georgia adopted an embryo frozen for 11 years through the clinic's network. When the first transfer did not produce a pregnancy they later adopted two more.

The doctor has faced criticism from some Christians and anti-abortion activists who view all IVF as unethical. He plans to add more physicians to the practice. One recent Sunday after church services, laboratory staff prepared a frozen embryo for transfer to a couple from North Carolina.

The embryo thawed and its cells rehydrated in a culture dish. Four weeks after the transfer, the patient was reported to be pregnant.