After I'm feeling better, I'm thinking of writing a story, but need to do research . . .
Wonder what a liberal UMC or a liberal ELCA congregation think of an unwed woman being a surrogate mother for a male gay couple.
I don't know if I could realistically set it in Louisiana, or not.
Anyway, that's stuff I want to research for a possible story . . .
Many ELCA Lutherans tolerate or welcome gay people, but there are limits to what is tolerated in the name of inclusion, and these are going to vary from church to church. Lutheran ethics are not based on libertarian notions of freedom; they are about looking out for the good of ones neighbor and their welfare and dignity. The ELCA's last social statement on fertility and bioethics was a while ago, and from what I recall, cast doubt on the ethics of using in-vitro fertilization for that purpose.
Based on what I've read, I think many Lutherans would not generally approve. There would be concerns about using peoples' bodies in a transactional way, outside of a relationship based on enduring trust and commitment, and where the parental rights of the biological mother would be presumed forfeited.
However, Lutherans aren't always the types to directly confront somebody about disapproved behavior. The persons involved would probably be tolerated to a certain extent, but their behavior wouldn't be approved of. Frankly, I see it as an implausible scenario for a serious Lutheran.
Louisiana seems like an atypical place to situate Lutherans. I would think typically you'ld place Baptists and Catholics there. I suspect a Lutheran in Louisiana would tend to be even less likely to approve (in my experience, Lutherans in conservative, southern states tend to be at least somewhat more conservative themselves, especially if the church is relatively old).
