Alabama Hospital Stops IVF Procedures Following Frozen Embryos Ruling
The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system is pausing in vitro fertilization treatments while health providers across the state assess the impact of the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling that frozen embryos are "children." The change has left patients with pending appointments uncertain and fearful about future steps.
AP:
Alabama Hospital Pauses IVF Treatments After Court Ruling On Embryos
Alabama’s largest hospital paused in vitro fertilization treatments Wednesday as providers and patients across the state scrambled to assess the impact of a court ruling that said frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system said in a statement that it must evaluate whether its patients or doctors could face criminal charges or punitive damages for undergoing IVF treatments. “We are saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF,” the statement from spokeswoman Savannah Koplon read. (Chandler, 2/21)
Axios:
Fertility Treatments Freeze After Alabama Supreme Court's Embryo Ruling
The University of Alabama at Birmingham paused in vitro fertilization treatments, citing "the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care." Medical professionals throughout the state are questioning whether they'll need to overhaul their approach to IVF, most likely in ways that could make it riskier, more expensive and more painful for women trying to conceive. (Baker, 2/21)
Al.Com:
Women Getting IVF In Alabama Say Window Closing On Getting Pregnant: 'I’m Terrified.'
Kelly Belmont and her husband began IVF treatment in Alabama in October and had an appointment in January to retrieve her eggs. Unfortunately, the procedure was not successful, and Belmont planned another round in April. But now she is worried. “Honestly, I’m terrified,” Belmont said. Her clinic has not announced any plans to pause IVF treatment, but patients in Alabama who have used vitro fertilization are suddenly facing uncertainty following a surprising decision by the Alabama Supreme Court that embryos constitute children. (Yurakin, 2/22)
CNN:
A Military Family Faces Uncertainty Over Having Another Child With The Help Of IVF After Alabama’s Supreme Court Ruling
Julie Eshelman and her husband conceived their 2-year-old daughter through in vitro fertilization and kept their frozen embryos in storage, hoping to keep available a vital option for growing their family. But with the military family being redeployed to Alabama, that option is now shrouded with uncertainty following a recent state Supreme Court ruling, Eshelman told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday. (Salahieh, 2/22)
CNN:
About 2% Of Babies Born In The US Are From IVF. Here’s What You Need To Know About It
Talk to a group of 100 people born in the United States, and chances are two of them were born as the result of in vitro fertilization, said Dr. Zev Williams, director of the Columbia University Fertility Center. “In many ways, IVF is actually one of the great triumphs of modern medicine,” he said. “One thing that’s helpful to know is just how common it is. About 2% of births in the US results from IVF. Over 8 million babies have been born using this technology.” (Holcombe, 2/21)
Public figures are speaking on the controversial Alabama ruling —
The 19th:
Nikki Haley, Like The Alabama Supreme Court, Said IVF Embryos Are Babies
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she sees embryos created through in-vitro fertilization as “babies,” just days after a ruling out of Alabama that fertility treatment advocates say could disrupt access to the procedure. (Barclay and Panetta, 2/21)
The New York Times:
Alabama Rules Frozen Embryos Are Children, Raising Questions About Fertility Care
On Tuesday, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said the ruling would cause “exactly the type of chaos that we expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and paved the way for politicians to dictate some of the most personal decisions families can make.” (Caryn Rabin and Ghorayshi, 2/20)
The Hill:
HHS Secretary: UAB Decision To Pause IVF Treatment Will Have ‘Heart-Wrenching Consequences’
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra decried the recent University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) health care system’s decision to pause in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments Wednesday. “I’ve long made clear that overturning Roe was just the beginning of the attacks on women’s health, privacy, & autonomy — and that’s exactly what we continue to see,” Becerra said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. (Suter, 2/21)
The Washington Post:
How Alabama IVF Clinics, Doctors Are Navigating The Embryo Ruling
In Alabama, seeking or providing infertility treatment is now mired in anxiety. The Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that embryos are equivalent to existing children and therefore eligible to be claimed in a wrongful-death suit ... Many in Alabama now fear IVF will be permanently inaccessible or severely limited because of the financial and physical costs to patients and civil or criminal liability for providers. (Javaid and Bellware, 2/21)
The Washington Post:
What Alabama’s Frozen Embryos Ruling Means For IVF Across The U.S.
Frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are people, Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled last week, opening up a new front in the national debate over reproductive rights.The ruling, which declared that clinics can be held liable for discarding frozen embryos, has sparked fears that IVF services in the state could be restricted or even ended. On Wednesday, at least two of the state’s IVF clinics, Alabama Fertility and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, announced they were pausing parts of their IVF treatment. (Javaid and Rosenzweig-Ziff, 2/21)
Politico:
‘Another Hot Potato’: Alabama’s IVF Ruling Risks Political, Legal Backlash
The Alabama Supreme Court ruling granting legal personhood to frozen embryos could set up a political and legal backlash against conservatives heading into the November election. The decision not only threatens GOP efforts to court suburban women and other constituencies uneasy about abortion bans, but also complicates the party’s standing with millions of people who may oppose abortion but support — and in many cases use — in-vitro fertilization and other forms of fertility care. (Miranda Ollstein, 2/21)
