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An Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos can be considered "extrauterine children" under state law has major implications for how in vitro fertilization, commonly called IVF, is performed.
The ruling came in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic in Mobile, Ala. The court agreed with the couples that the embryos were protected under the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. Legal and reproductive medicine experts say the ruling raises the risks and costs of IVF for both patients and medical practitioners.
Already, at least three providers in Alabama have announced that they are pausing IVF treatments in light of last Friday's court ruling. And an Alabama lawmaker has said he will introduce state legislation that would clarify that IVF can continue in the state. For the moment, the legal ramifications for IVF only affect Alabama. That could change as other states adopt "personhood" statutes that say life, and rights, begin at conception.
Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/health...ozen-embryo-personhood-abortion-supreme-court
I listened to podcast about this earlier this week, but this would be fallout from the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Alabama rules that frozen embryos are considered life as well, making all of these clinics potentially liable for murder if the process of IVF is unsuccessful. In response, the major clinics have paused operation for the time being. You'd think that couples would be able to transfer these embryos to a clinic in another state, but there's also the fear of embryos being damaged in the shipping process, so all of these embryos are just stuck at these clinics at the moment.
How do you guys feel about this issue? Even if you are a hardcore conservative that is 100% against abortion, it seems pretty crazy to make IVF impossible.