Following the Alabama Supreme Court's landmark decision last week classifying frozen embryos as children, several political leaders and IVF advocacy groups voiced passionate opposition to the decision. ing.

Sen. Katie Britt, one of the people who opposed the decision, said IVF can help build families.

“My goal is for Alabama to be the best place in the world to live, work, worship and raise a family,” said Britt (R-Montgomery). “Ultimately, IVF helps create life and grow families and deserves to be protected by law. We will continue to promote a culture of living while securing resources.”

President Joe Biden issued a statement about the decision, comparing it to Roe V. Wade's Ace Attorney.

“Today, in 2024, women in America are being kept away from emergency rooms and forced to travel hundreds of miles for medical care, while doctors fear being prosecuted for providing abortions. “We're doing it,” Biden said. “And now, an Alabama court is jeopardizing access to fertility treatment for some families desperately trying to conceive.

“Disregarding women's ability to make these decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable.”

In response to the ruling, state Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) drafted a bill that would classify embryos as non-viable until implanted in the uterus.

“We all know there's a big discussion that pregnancy is life,” he said. “I won't argue that point, but life doesn't form until it's in the womb.”

He emphasized that as a result of this ruling, the IVF model of medicine is in jeopardy.

“Everything from paying premiums to abandoning insurance because it's no longer worth it,” he says.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville spoke about the issue Thursday at CPAC and initially said he supported the court's ruling.

“We need to have more children. We need the opportunity to do it and we thought this was the right thing to do,” Tuberville said.

Many believe that discontinuing IVF treatment actually causes a decrease in birth rates.

“Well, that's another story,” Tuberville said of that possibility. “I think the important thing right now is for you to protect, to go back to the situation and try to resolve it in a way that's best for everyone. So that's what the whole abortion issue is about.”

Tuberville has since changed his tune, saying that women should indeed have access to IVF because “we need more children and we need to give people the opportunity to have children.”

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, one of the South's leading providers of in vitro fertilization, has halted treatment, fearing legal repercussions.University of South Alabama

“We regret that this decision has affected the patient's chances of having a baby through in vitro fertilization,” the university said in a statement. “However, we must consider the potential for patients and physicians to face criminal prosecution and punitive damages for complying with the standard of care for IVF treatment.”

Barbara Collula, president and CEO of Resolve, the national infertility association, emphasized the cost of this decision.

“Less than a week after the Alabama Supreme Court's shocking decision, Alabamians seeking treatment have had their lives taken and their hopes and dreams shattered,” Korula said. “We will continue to fight to maintain and increase access to care for the one in six adults nationwide who suffer from infertility.”

Austin Shipley is a staff writer at Yellowhammer News.