Some fertility clinics and transportation services are no longer shipping frozen embryos from Alabama to other states as they weigh the legal implications of an Alabama court's ruling that IVF-produced embryos are children. I plan to put it on hold.
At least three Alabama health care providers have suspended IVF services following last week's Alabama Supreme Court ruling, leaving many doctors and patients confused about which aspects of fertility treatments will be restricted. . Some IVF patients have considered moving their embryos out of state to continue the process elsewhere, but have learned that option is not available at this time.
SOLUTION: The National Fertility Association announced Friday: National Embryo Transport Services announced it would cease embryo transport to and from Alabama.
“The window of hope for Alabama residents currently undergoing IVF to continue their family-forming treatment in another state has just closed,” RESOLVE CEO Barbara Collula said in a statement. ” he said.
At least two IVF providers in Alabama told NBC News they have similarly suspended embryo shipments.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, which suspended in vitro fertilization services this week, announced Thursday that it will not be sending embryos to new locations at this time.
“UAB is aware that some patients may wish to transfer their embryos to another facility,” UAB said in a statement. “Companies transporting embryos are also evaluating the risks associated with the Alabama Supreme Court decision, and we are working to identify capable and willing companies as quickly as possible. Our goal is to help certain patients make a safe choice, but there are currently no options available.”
Meghan Cole, a patient at Birmingham's Alabama Fertility Center, said Friday she was expecting her fetus to be implanted in a surrogate mother (Cole has a blood disorder that makes it safe for her to become pregnant) Can not). However, her appointment was canceled on Wednesday night as the clinic decided to suspend IVF services.
She inquired about transferring the embryos to an out-of-state facility, but her doctor said she was concerned that the medical facility could be held liable if the embryos could be damaged during the transfer. she said.
“Now if you want to take them out of state and transport them to another state or where the surrogate lives, you can't do that,” Cole said. “We're kind of stuck until something changes here. Who knows how long that will take.”
Alabama Fertility did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Dr. Brett Davenport, a reproductive endocrinologist with the North Alabama Fertility Institute, said his clinic continues to offer in vitro fertilization services but is also not shipping embryos.
“I'm not actively destroying embryos or shipping them out of state, but I think it's very likely that this problem will be resolved in a month or so. '' he said.
An Alabama court has ruled that people can be held legally liable for embryo destruction under the state's wrongful death law, which makes wrongful or negligent acts that result in someone's death a civil crime. I put it down. As a result, providers of IVF services and embryo transport are now concerned about the legal implications if embryos are discarded. This is a common part of the IVF process, as some embryos may have genetic abnormalities or be unwanted.
But the Alabama Supreme Court's Feb. 16 ruling applied to special circumstances. Three couples sued a fertility clinic in Mobile, Alabama, after a person wandered into an unlocked storage area and dropped frozen embryos on the floor. The court ruled that the clinic's failure to secure storage for the fetus violated the state's death laws because it is considered a person.
Legal experts are hesitant to speculate about the broader implications.
“Parents who destroy a fetus can sue the person who destroyed the fetus for wrongful death — that's all this ruling says. If a lawsuit arises in the future seeking to destroy the fetus, we will be able to sue the person who destroyed it for wrongful death. We'll have to wait and see what happens in the courts. Let's use this opinion as a weapon to ban IVF,” said Gail Deady, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
On Friday, Katherine Robertson, chief counsel to Alabama Attorney General Stephen Marshall, said her office “intends to use the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families and providers.” No,” he said.
The Alabama Legislature may also act to protect IVF. Five Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday in the Alabama House of Representatives that would state that a fetus outside the womb is neither a fetus nor a human under state law. Republican state Sen. Tim Melson announced Thursday that he plans to introduce a similar bill that would make it clear that an embryo is not a human life until it is implanted in the uterus.
It's unclear when fertility clinics will be able to resume normal operations, and whether patients who intended to dispose of their embryos will have to continue paying storage fees in the meantime. Frozen embryo storage can cost between $350 and $1,000 per year.
Cole said she sympathizes with the clinic's position, but is also concerned about the potential negative impact of the Alabama ruling.
“Clinics are afraid to even give us embryos to transport to other states. I'm like, 'Theoretically, you're kidnapping my children, aren't you?' ’,” she said. “How far am I taking this? Can I claim them as dependents on my tax return?”
