What Alabama's embryo ruling means
Also: Gen Z's fear of aging, Beyoncé, and beating the winter blues
What you need to know about Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling about frozen embryos
What did the court rule?
The ruling emerged from a lawsuit involving three families whose frozen embryos were destroyed, leading Alabama’s highest court to extend the definition of children to include embryos stored outside the womb.
What happens now?
The University of Alabama decided to pause IVF treatments, the process where embryos are put back in the womb, citing the potential for criminal prosecutions. This halt is having a chilling effect on reproductive healthcare providers nationwide.
What does this mean for people in Alabama?
For starters, it could make getting IVF treatment harder. If embryos are considered children by law, there are a lot of new questions about what can and can't be done during the IVF process. This could scare off doctors and clinics from offering these treatments because they don't want to accidentally break the law.
For Alabamans looking to get pregnant through IVF, this ruling could mean having to go out of state for treatment, which can be really expensive and stressful. It also brings up tough questions about what happens to the extra embryos that aren't used. Usually, there are a few options like donating them for research or to another person, but if embryos are legally considered children, these options get a lot more complicated.
What about the rest of the country?
There is concern more states will decide to follow Alabama's lead, which could change how IVF is done all over the country. That's a big concern for would-be parents, particularly those among the estimated 1 in 6 adults nationwide grappling with infertility. IVF accounts for approximately 2 percent of births in the United States
The bottom line
This ruling is a big change. It's not just about Alabama; it's about what this means for anyone who might want or need IVF in the future. On the heels of the overturning of Roe v Wade, it’s another reminder that laws can have a huge impact on personal choices and healthcare.
Dig deeper:
➤ Alabama Rules Frozen Embryos Are Children, Raising Questions About Fertility Care (New York Times)
➤ Shock, anger, confusion grip Alabama after court ruling on embryos (Washington Post)
➤ Fearing prosecution, UAB pauses in vitro fertilization after Alabama embryo court ruling (AL.com)
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IVF industry was built on the purposeful destruction of countless human embryos, and the vast majority of IVF practice involves producing lots of human organisms artificially, and destroying the ones that are deemed less suitable. Everyone began as an embryo, and therefore it's odd that most people consider human embryos to be of no account and easily disposable. The IVF industry really banks on offering patients a way to conveniently acquire a child who fulfills their expectations, but the pathway to this offering usually involves purposeful killing, and produces many future difficulties. It's worthwhile to read the writings of human beings who were produced by artificial technologies, which reveal medical and psychological issues that were not considered by the industry nor the customers.