A second Alabama health care provider announced it would suspend in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments Thursday, days after the state Supreme Court issued its first ruling that embryos are “children outside the womb.” did.
“Given the legal risks to our clinic and embryologists, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to put new IVF treatments on hold,” Alabama Fertility said in a statement. Post to your Instagram account. “We are committed to reaching out to patients who will be affected today to find solutions and alerting lawmakers to the far-reaching negative impact this ruling will have on women in Alabama. .”
The clinic said it had no plans to close permanently and urged people to come back for an “opportunity to advocate.”
Alabama Fertility becomes at least the second IVF provider to announce a pause in IVF treatment, following the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s announcement Wednesday that it would suspend treatment following a court ruling. A spokesperson for the university, the state’s largest health care provider, said the university “regrets that this will impact a patient’s attempt to have a baby through in vitro fertilization, but the patient and physician may be subject to prosecution.” We need to evaluate gender.” If you follow the standard of care for IVF treatment, you may be subject to criminal penalties or face punitive damages. ”
The Alabama Supreme Court’s decision stems from two wrongful death lawsuits filed against IVF clinics after several people’s frozen embryos were accidentally destroyed. The clinic fought back, arguing that Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor law did not apply to frozen embryos, but the state Supreme Court ruled that the law did apply.
“The central issue raised in these consolidated appeals concerns the death of embryos kept in cryogenic nurseries, and the law does not include extrauterine children, i.e. children born outside the biological womb. “The question is whether there is an implied exception to that rule for the fetus, which is the moment of killing,” Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell wrote. “Under the current Black Book Act, the answer to that question is no. The Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to all unborn children, regardless of where they live.”
IVF patients and their advocates have fiercely opposed the ruling, arguing that it does not address the broader practical implications of legally recognizing frozen embryos as human beings. Doctors at Alabama Fertility told the Guardian earlier this week that the ruling threatens to upend some stages of the IVF process.
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“Are we at a point where we have to move the entire practice out of state because we can no longer safely provide the quality and standard of care that we have maintained?” said one of the clinic’s physicians. said Dr. Michael C. Allemand. “Patients in this state, like people in other states, have the right to have a genetic chance to have a child if they want to have one. And that’s being threatened by this.” is.”
