Chicago ? When determining the fate of embryos created by in-vitro fertilization but not returned to the womb, people of faith often rely on religious tenets to shed light on the dilemma.

To distill the range of religious perspectives, an interfaith think tank and team of medical and legal professionals are working to develop a care kit for fertility centers, obstetricians and congregations to share with patients.

“We found there was confusion, disharmony and a real sense of loss as to how to make the right choice,” said psychotherapist Susan Weitzman, a founder of the think tank with the working name Frozen in Time, and who has encountered many couples grappling with the issue. “When you’re dealing with life-and-death issues, religion and spirituality become important fiber.”

Rabbi Robert Gamer, a member of the think tank, said many couples have sought his advice on the issue since he became a rabbi in 2002.

“In general, people of faith want to try to figure out what it is that God wants of us,” he said. “Certainly with frozen embryos that has been the case.”

The Rev. Don Fagerberg, a Lutheran pastor on the team, said it’s only natural for couples to seek a moral compass when it comes to reproductive technology.

“We have been able to advance in areas of knowledge much faster than we have been able to advance in the areas of wisdom,” he said. “We can create, we can control, we can do a lot of things and we have not even determined yet whether in fact we should do certain things.”

The think tank also encompasses traditions that discourage assisted reproductive technology or freezing embryos in the first place.

Marcia Hermansen, an Islamic scholar at Loyola University, said Islam does not forbid stem cell research or the destruction of extra embryos because Muslims believe embryos do not have the status of a person.

Monsignor Robert Dempsey, a member of the Chicago Archdiocese’s bioethics commission, said although the church cautions against IVF, its pastoral role doesn’t end when couples do it and face the consequences. But the violation of church teaching does create a conundrum for theologians, he said.

“The real solution is not to create the problem at all,” he said. “In the end, Catholic moralists would say they have to sit down with a priest with some background in these questions who can work out what the various implications are … and try to guide them toward a responsible decision.”