Second Alabama clinic stops IVF treatment after court ruling
- Alabama ruled frozen embryos are considered children
- Unborn children are included in the state's Death of a Minor statute
- The ruling could have a chilling effect on fertility treatments
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(NewsNation) — Days after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that embryos are considered children, a second clinic in the state has stopped offering in vitro fertility treatments.
The ruling declared embryos were considered children regardless of whether they were in a uterus or frozen, and those who destroy embryos may be held liable for wrongful death. Another hospital in the state already announced it would pause treatments after the decision.
The news could be devastating for those seeking fertility treatments. During IVF, multiple eggs are typically fertilized and frozen, with only one being transplanted back into the patient at any given time.
While doctors may sometimes transplant multiple embryos since not all will successfully implant, others only implant one at a time to avoid the risks of multiples.
If the destruction of leftover embryos is a crime, it could increase the already high costs of IVF, if clinics continue offering it at all. While the clinic has said the current pause is temporary, there is a chance many doctors will cease offering IVF at all due to legal liability.
The case was brought by a group of IVF patients whose embryos were taken out of freezing and then dropped and destroyed.
The death of unborn children is specifically included in Alabama’s Death of a Minor statute and the ruling clarified embryos did not need to be in utero to be covered.
The decision has raised questions about liability for embryos that are transplanted but result in miscarriage or the impact on genetic testing. IVF embryos may undergo genetic screening to screen out genetic defects and those embryos would typically be destroyed.
It is unlikely the case will go to the Supreme Court, since it applies solely to state law.