A major hospital in Alabama has reportedly suspended in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment following the state Supreme Court's recent ruling that frozen embryos should be considered “children.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) reportedly announced Wednesday that its Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility is suspending treatment “as it evaluates the Alabama Supreme Court's decision that cryopreserved embryos are human beings.” . according to To the Associated Press. (Related: Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are children)
“While we regret that this will impact patients' attempts to have a baby through IVF, we do not believe that patients and physicians may face criminal prosecution or punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatment. We need to evaluate the possibility of doing so,” a statement from UAB spokeswoman Savannah Coplon reported.
BREAKING: UAB 'pauses' IVF treatments following Friday's Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are human beings pic.twitter.com/BlXAJ6eOXC
— Jonathan Hardison (@FOX6Hardison) February 21, 2024
The Alabama Supreme Court on February 16 put the state on ice after a lower court rejected a wrongful death lawsuit brought by three couples in the state after a hospital patient allegedly destroyed an embryo. The court ruled that embryos are considered “children.” The couple attempted to sue the fertility center and hospital where the embryos were kept before they were destroyed in 2021.
Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Jill Parrish Phillips dismissed the lawsuit in 2022 after the hospital's lawyers argued that state law did not cover fetuses outside the mother's womb. But the state Supreme Court justices' ruling declared that the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, which the hospital lawyers used in their argument, applied to “all unborn children, regardless of location.”
“[T]Wrongful death due to minor acts is broad and does not qualify. This applies to all children, born or unborn, without restriction. It is not our role to create new limits based on our own views about what is or is not prudent public policy. That is especially true when, as here, the state adopts a constitutional amendment whose direct purpose is to prevent courts from excluding “fetuses'' from legal protection.'' Jay Mitchell said in the filing.
In response to reports that UAB has decided to discontinue treatment, the Alabama State Medical Association also added: released Wednesday's statement expressed “concerns” about the court's ruling and asked the judge to “stay or reconsider” the decision “to ensure continued access to IVF care” in the state. .
“The significance of this decision impacts all of Alabama, limiting fertility options for those who want to start a family, potentially reducing the number of babies for children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. “Highly sexual,'' the statement reads. “Additionally, this ruling has already forced UAB, Alabama’s largest health system, to stop providing IVF services to couples in Alabama. Other countries may do the same.” “In vitro fertilization is often the only option for couples trying to conceive.''
UAB is among the first large hospitals in Alabama to suspend treatment, with other hospitals reportedly continuing services while lawyers study the impact of the court ruling, according to the Associated Press. It appears to be one, the Associated Press reported.
