Alabama court ruling raises new concerns for IVF patients across US
Newsy
Reproductive advocacy groups fear dire consequences for couples using in vitro fertilization, and worry about the ruling spreading to other states.
Couples struggling with infertility are asking questions after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos should be considered children under state law, prompting at least two fertility clinics in the state to pause in vitro fertilization treatments.
The ruling suggests embryos should have the same protections that children do under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, and it would make it a crime to destroy unused embryos.
Reproductive advocacy groups warn the decision could have broader implications for couples trying to build a family, especially for military families constantly on the move.
Julie Eshelman and her husband conceived their 2-year-old daughter through IVF and currently have frozen embryos stored where they live now in Pennsylvania — but being a military family, there’s always the potential to be redeployed, including to Alabama.
“I'm still trying to process all of this myself, and what that means for my family and for families across the country,” said Eshelman.
