HHS Secretary: UAB decision to pause IVF treatment will have ‘heart-wrenching consequences’

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on Wednesday condemned the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Health System’s recent decision to suspend in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

“I have long made clear that overturning Roe is just the beginning of an attack on women’s health, privacy, and autonomy, and that is exactly what we continue to see. ” Becerra said. In the post of Xthe platform formerly known as Twitter.

“The decision in Alabama will have heartbreaking consequences for women and their families,” Becerra continued.

The decision comes just days after the Yellowhammer Supreme Court’s decision declared frozen embryos and fertilized eggs to be children under the Alabama Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell wrote that the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”

“Before birth, all humans bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without diminishing the glory of God,” Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote in a concurring opinion. “We believe that all human beings are made in the image of God from the moment of their conception and are created by God to reflect the image of God.”

A spokesperson said the health system is evaluating the court’s decision.

“While we regret that this will impact patients’ attempts to have a baby through IVF, we do not believe that patients and physicians may face criminal prosecution or punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatment. ” the health system said.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley also commented on the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling Wednesday, saying frozen embryos produced through in vitro fertilization are “babies.”