The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System announced Wednesday that it is suspending in vitro fertilization treatments in recognition of the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children.
“We regret that this will impact patients' attempts to have babies through IVF,” the health system said in a statement. “However, the potential for patients and physicians to face criminal prosecution or punitive damages must be evaluated” according to the standard of care for IVF treatment. ”
The health system's Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Division will continue to collect eggs from women seeking infertility treatment, but will continue to collect eggs from women seeking infertility treatment, but will not be able to complete the next step in the process: combining eggs and sperm in a laboratory for fertilization, according to the statement. The company says it will not begin the stage of harvesting embryos. Develop — for now.
“Everything leading up to egg retrieval remains in place,” the statement said. “Egg fertilization and embryo development are suspended.”
In response to questions, a health system spokesperson said embryo transfer procedures, the final part of the in vitro fertilization process, have also been suspended.
The health system includes the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, which is the state's largest hospital and ranks among the nation's 20 “largest and best-equipped” hospitals, according to its website. Included in
UAB's decision comes just five days after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos frozen in vitro should be considered children.
The ruling stems from an appellate case filed in 2020 by a Mobile, Alabama, couple whose frozen embryos were destroyed when a hospital patient removed them from a tank of liquid nitrogen and dropped them on the floor.
The ruling cited anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, stating that an 1872 law that allowed parents to sue for the wrongful death of a minor child had no exception for “children outside the womb.” It also applies to fetuses.
“Before birth, all humans bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without diminishing the glory of God,” Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote in a concurring opinion.
In vitro fertilization is a standard medical protocol to collect as many eggs as possible from a woman and fertilize them to form embryos. Usually one or two of her embryos are transferred to her uterus to maximize the chances of successful implantation and a full-term pregnancy. The rest is frozen for future use.
The ruling sent shockwaves through the reproductive medicine world as fertility doctors and legal experts weigh the potential impact on access to IVF and other fertility treatments.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that the ruling was “as expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened a path to justice for politicians.” It would cause exactly the kind of chaos that was occurring.” Determine some of the most personal decisions a family can make. ”
According to the Pew Research Center, from 2017 to 2019, 10% of American women between the ages of 15 and 44 said they received some type of fertility treatment service. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 91,906 births using assisted reproductive technology (including in vitro fertilization) in the United States in 2021.
According to the CDC, 1,219 assisted reproductive procedures were performed in Alabama in 2021.
Azeen Goraishi and Loni Caryn Rabin Contributed to the report.
