Invitro Fertilization

Some Republicans joined Democrats in expressing alarm over a ruling this week by the Alabama Supreme Court that jeopardized future access to in vitro fertilization, giving allies of President Joe Biden new fuel for their efforts to center abortion access in the presidential election.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that couples who were trying in vitro fertilization and lost frozen embryos in an accident at a south Alabama storage facility can sue under the state's wrongful death law. Since then, three providers have paused the often-used fertility treatments while they sort out the legal implications.

Additional in vitro fertilization providers in Alabama paused parts of their treatment Thursday, sending patients scrambling to make other plans after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally considered children.

The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. This is raising concerns about how the decision could affect invitro fertilization, commonly known as IVF. The fertility treatment involves retrieving a woman's eggs and combining them with a man's sperm in a lab dish. A few days after fertilization, one or more embryos are placed in the uterus and healthy embryos that are not transferred may be frozen and stored. Frozen embryos can be used for future pregnancies, and are stored at places such as hospital labs or reproductive medicine centers. APR News Director Pat Duggins spoke with Robin Marty, Executive Director of the West Alabama Women's Center, and a voice for reproductive rights in the State. Here's that conversation