by Katie Schuermann
$30,000.00 is the average cost of one fresh IVF cycle.
However, because the average success rate of births associated with IVF is so low, a couple can expect to pay for more than one cycle before achieving a live birth.
The Global Fertility Network explains, “Despite per–cycle savings, be aware that the average total cost to achieve a live birth can range from $30,000 to $63,000+, as multiple cycles (with a median of two in younger patients and three in older patients or those with highly complex infertility cases requiring sophisticated strategies and more medical services to resolve them) [are] often required.”1
My pastor-husband’s salary was not designed to stretch far enough to accommodate even one fresh cycle, so we passed on IVF.
But our budget’s restrictions aside, our consciences were burdened at the thought of purchasing a vocation, especially one that God Himself was actively withholding from us. The more we thought and prayed about it, the more clear it became that our money would be best served supporting the people already born and living — our neighbors — that God was putting directly in our path rather than devoting so much money to trying to produce new neighbors.
- https://ovu.com/fertility-insights/ivf-costs-in-the-usa-2026-a-complete-guide-to-pricing-insurance-financing ↩︎
If your conscience is burdened because you used IVF, know that you are not alone in your regrets. The apostle Paul teaches us in his letter to the Romans that “none is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). He also writes that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Please, talk to your pastor or a trusted Christian friend about your regrets, and put your faith in Jesus’ words from the cross about His work of salvation on our behalf: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Because of Christ’s mercy, we can live our lives looking backward in repentance yet forward in hope.
