On February 16, 2023, a court case in Alabama ended in a ruling where embryos created through in vitro fertilization are considered children. Since this ruling, many people have been concerned about what this even means and what lies in store for the future of reproductive rights.  

This case started when a lawsuit was filed against a hospital and fertility clinic when an embryo created through IVF was accidentally dropped and destroyed in 2020. The lawsuit was filed for wantonness and negligence and a lawsuit in accordance with the wrongful death of a minor act. Originally, the first judge did not find that a destroyed embryo to fit under the wrongful death of a minor act.  

The couple appealed this ruling, and the case made it all the way to the supreme court of Alabama, where it was ruled that the destruction of a frozen embryo does in fact fit under the wrongful death of a minor act. This led to the ruling where all embryos created through IVF are considered children.  

This already has had a huge effect on fertility clinics in Alabama, two of which have stopped their treatments until more information is available. One of these clinics being the University of Alabama at Birmingham health system, one of the biggest clinics in the state.  

This means all their previously scheduled IVF appointments have been canceled too, including ones where patients were undergoing the last part of the process where the embryo is implanted into the uterus. 

Since then, several other clinics have followed suit, and several citizens of Alabama are left to question if IVF will remain a viable option for them to have children. The process of IVF is already a bit difficult; the average timeline of the treatment being four to six weeks and that is if an embryo implants the first time. The average cost of IVF treatment in Alabama is about $10,000 to $15,000, and it is typically not covered by insurance. 

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, more states have been passing laws restricting access to abortion and Plan B contraceptive pills. Alabama is among the states with the strictest bans on abortion, having an all-out ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. The only exceptions to these bans being if the person pregnant or fetus is in either serious jeopardy or will not survive. 

Arizona has recently joined the states with the strictest bans on abortion. They passed a near total ban on it on April 9, 2024. Many people are worried of the issues this ruling will bring for IVF, not only in Alabama but in other states with stricter laws on abortion.  

After the ruling was made, the house proposed and passed a bill that would grant immunity to people who are providing IVF services or receiving them if an embryo is destroyed or lost. Although this bill has not been signed into law now, most clinics have begun to resume their IVF treatments.