Alabama Hospitals Paused IVF After Controversial New Bill Approved

[RAMROD 116,994]

Less than a week after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through in vitro fertilization are considered children, three IVF providers in the state have suspended services as they consider the legal repercussions of the decision.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham was first to announce the change on Wednesday. Then another practice, Alabama Fertility, posted a statement Thursday on social media saying it would put a hold on IVF treatments. The Center for Reproductive Medicine at Mobile Infirmary — the clinic sued in the court case — said Thursday that it would pause IVF procedures starting Saturday.

“We understand the burden this places on deserving families who want to bring babies into this world,” said Mark Nix, CEO of Infirmary Health, the system that includes Mobile Infirmary.

In its statement, Alabama Fertility said it was trying to find solutions for affected patients and "working as hard as we can to alert our legislators as to the far reaching negative impact of this ruling on the women of Alabama."

Hannah Echols, a spokesperson for UAB, said that health system will continue to offer egg retrieval but will no longer fertilize eggs or develop embryos.

"We are saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF, but we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments," Echols said in a statement.

The practice of IVF involves combining sperm and eggs in a lab to create embryos, then implanting one or more of those embryos in a person’s uterus. Extra embryos are often frozen and stored; however, embryos are also frequently discarded if they have genetic abnormalities or if patients do not need to use them. 

Because of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, IVF providers now fear they or their patients could face legal penalties if they discard any embryos.

However, many questions remain about the ruling's implications. The judges' decision came in response to a unique case in which a person wandered into an unlocked storage area at Mobile Infirmary in Mobile, Alabama, and dropped several frozen embryos on the floor.

The court determined on Feb. 16 that the clinic's failure to secure that storage area violated the state’s Wrongful Death Act — which says an unjustified or negligent act that leads to someone’s death is a civil offense — because the frozen embryos were considered human beings.

Lawmakers began scrambling for ways to protect Alabama in vitro fertilization services after multiple providers paused treatment in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos could be considered children under a state law.

Facing a wave of shock and anger from the decision, legislators prepared separate proposals in the House and Senate that would seek to prevent a fertilized egg from being recognized as a human life or an unborn child under state law until it is implanted in a woman's uterus.

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, a Democrat, said Republicans helped create the situation in their push to enact some of the most stringent anti-abortion rights laws in the country. The result, he said, was eliminating a path for people to become parents. 

"At the end of the day, the Republican Party has to be responsible for what they have done," Singleton said.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna139846

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/alabama-ivf-lawmakers-state-supreme-court-ruling/

[NUTELLA 26,364]

So many people desperate to have children, and life has now been made even more complicated for them.

Shame on these motherf*ckers.

edit- the repubs, not the hospitals 

[Horny Chicken 10,932]

This is so sad. America is turning into Gilead. 

[G U C C I 5,578]

My cousin had her IVF treatment scheduled next week at UAB (the biggest hospital in the state and one of the leading hospitals in the country) and received a phone call Friday saying the procedure was postponed indefinitely. They also said at this time they would be unable to transfer the embryos to another state for her to have them implanted. Her and her whole family are devastated. 
 

I have been the black sheep of my family for a while now, and have no problem explaining my position on the consequences of Christianity as a serious problem for this country and not something we should be looking to for answers. Needless to say to say I have not been asked or approached for any solace on what’s happening with them. My mother, however, called me in tears and I asked her if she remembered the conversation we had about voting republican and whether life starts at fertilization when Roe v Wade was overturned. I then asked her why she would be crying if these politicians are simply reaffirming her beliefs and protecting those babies? For the first time she didn’t immediately get angry but genuinely speechless. It really never occurs to some people the consequences of these policies until it affects them. 

[gothicdream 39,655]

And this is why healthcare should never be made political.

[NUTELLA 26,364]

29 minutes ago, G U C C I said:

I then asked her why she would be crying if these politicians are simply reaffirming her beliefs and protecting those babies? For the first time she didn’t immediately get angry but genuinely speechless. It really never occurs to some people the consequences of these policies until it affects them. 

This is why it is so important to have these conversations- especially with loved ones- regardless of how "uncomfortable" they can be.

I am so sorry about your cousin. I hope she becomes a mom someday.

 

[PartySick 172,384]

1 hour ago, Healed My Heart said:

And this is why healthcare should never be made political.

To the contrary, it should always be political as a point of policy that protects access to safe and affordable healthcare through laws and regulations. Rulings like the Alabama court's should motivate people to elect leaders who will enshrine into law protections to prevent this from happening.

What it shouldn't be is theocratic.

This is what happens when religion becomes anything other than a private and personal choice.

I'm grateful every day that religions are slowly dying off with every generation. One day, people won't use an old book of fairytales and superstitions to strip other people of their rights or justify their bigotry.

1 hour ago, G U C C I said:

It really never occurs to some people the consequences of these policies until it affects them. 

That's the way it goes, isn't it?

My family was all staunchly pro-life until my cousin needed an abortion and my sister wanted to get her tubes tied.

[SharkmanthaC 115,027]

4 hours ago, G U C C I said:

My cousin had her IVF treatment scheduled next week at UAB (the biggest hospital in the state and one of the leading hospitals in the country) and received a phone call Friday saying the procedure was postponed indefinitely. They also said at this time they would be unable to transfer the embryos to another state for her to have them implanted. Her and her whole family are devastated. 

Please send your cousin this link - https://fightforfamilies.resolve.org/ & https://resolve.org/supporting-alabama-families-resources-virtual-support-groups/

This is from RESOLVE (The National Infertility Association) and has resources for families in Alabama. My support group leader actually held a virtual group for them on Friday evening. She said it wasn't widely attended, but it was needed.

[DopeEnigma 1,774]

And yet America seem hell bent on Trump round 2, it’s absolutely mental. 

[SharkmanthaC 115,027]

As someone going through IVF right now, this is terrifying. I feel so bad for those people in Alabama in the middle of their cycles. It's just insane, and I'm terrified of states that will follow. And since these are "extrauterine children" I'm expecting to be able to deduct all 12 of my embryos on my taxes this year.

I am sharing the links that were shared with me in regards to this. Please, please, please sign the petition, contact lawmakers, etc. It is so important because this is a crazy road we are headed down.

There are ways that you can help. RESOLVE has a Fight for Families Campaign which has some great resources and information. Other ways you can get involved:

• Join Advocacy Day in May. 
• Share on social media. RESOLVE has a library of templates you can use.
• Sign the Change.org petition 
• Review the Resource Page RESOLVE has created

These are all through RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. It is important to note that they also advocate for LGBTQ+ fertility issues, so if you ever feel like you may want to start a family with as a LGBTQ person, this may impact you as well.

[NUTELLA 26,364]

1 hour ago, SharkmanthaC said:

And since these are "extrauterine children" I'm expecting to be able to deduct all 12 of my embryos on my taxes this year.

& best of luck to you 🖤