A baby boy born in Ohio on July 26, 2025, has set a new record as the “world’s oldest baby,” delivered from an embryo frozen since 1994. Thaddeus Daniel Pierce’s birth is not only a medical milestone but also a profound testament to the sanctity of life and the role of faith in reproductive choices.
The embryo was created in 1994 through IVF by Linda Archerd, then married and struggling with infertility. One of the four resulting embryos led to the birth of her daughter, now 30. The remaining three embryos were cryopreserved and remained unused until Archerd, now 62, considered embryo adoption. As a Christian, she sought a white, married Christian couple to raise any potential child. This led her to Lindsey and Tim Pierce.
Lindsey and Tim, residents of Ohio, were not looking to make history. “We just wanted to have a baby,” Lindsey told MIT Technology Review. The couple underwent a successful embryo transfer, resulting in the birth of Thaddeus. Though the birth was difficult, both mother and child are reportedly in good health.
Archerd, who retained legal custody of the embryos after her divorce, said she immediately noticed Thaddeus’s resemblance to her daughter. “There is no doubt they are siblings,” she remarked after comparing baby pictures.
The embryo transfer was performed at a clinic run by Dr. John Gordon, a reproductive endocrinologist and devout Reformed Presbyterian. Gordon’s clinic operates with the belief that each embryo represents a unique human life, deserving of birth and love. His ethical approach is rooted in Christian doctrine, emphasizing the moral responsibility to offer frozen embryos the chance for life.
This case highlights the growing interest in embryo adoption as a life-affirming alternative to embryo destruction or indefinite storage. While secular fertility clinics often neglect the moral implications of unused embryos, clinics like Gordon’s provide an ethical path aligned with Biblical values—affirming that life begins at conception and deserves protection.
Thaddeus’s birth offers a powerful example of how faith-based medicine and pro-life principles can intersect with science to uphold the value of every human life—even one frozen for three decades.
