The Alabama Supreme Court's decision that frozen embryos created through
in vitro fertilization our children is putting reproductive rights back
in the spotlight on the presidential campaign trail.
As CB S S Natalie Brand reports,
the court ruled that the embryos have the same rights
as they would if they were born.
Alabama's largest hospital has paused IVF treatments after the state
Supreme Court ruled the embryos have the same rights as
children,
leaving patients in limbo. It's completely just derailed a lot
of hope.
34 year old Jasmine York has a 13 year old
daughter,
but turned to IVF to have a second child after
multiple ectopic pregnancies.
We were really looking forward to
March 20th was when I was supposed to transfer.
The court's decision stems from a wrongful death lawsuit filed
by three couples who lost frozen embryos stored at an
Alabama fertility clinic.
Alabama's unprecedented ruling is reverberating on the presidential campaign trail,
where reproductive rights has become a key issue following the
US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe versus Wade ending
the constitutional right to abortion.
Wednesday night, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Bailey spoke to Gayle
King on CN NS King Charles about the court's decision.
I didn't say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling.
What the question that I was asked is do I
believe an embryo is a baby?
I do think that if you look in the definition,
an embryo is considered an unborn baby.
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the ruling during a round
table on reproductive rights in the battleground state of Michigan
Thursday.
Individuals, couples who want to start a family
are now being deprived of access
to what can help them start
a family. The CDC says about 2%
of all infants born in the US are conceived using
IVF each year.
Natalie Brand, CBS News Washington
President Biden is weighing in hosting to X.
The disregard for women's ability to make these decisions is
outrageous,
vowing to restore Roe versus Wade era protections.
Locally, an announcement today that IVF procedures at Mobile Infirmary
are paused following that Alabama Supreme Court decision that will
go into effect Saturday for patients at the Center for
Reproductive Medicine Infirmary Health President and CEO Mark Nix sent
out a statement saying they had no choice but to
do this after the high court's decision,
and they understand the burden this places on deserving families
trying so hard to bring babies into this world.
Mobile Infirmary is where this case began in December 2020.
A patient they reportedly broke into the embryo lab,
got a hold of several embryos and dropped them on
the ground.
In 2021, three couples filed wrongful death lawsuits against Mobile
Infirmary and the Center for Reproductive Medicine,
citing the laboratory door was left unlocked and that the
embryos slowly died.
In April of 2022, a judge dismissed the lawsuit,
saying the hospital wasn't at fault.
The case was appealed and ended up on the Alabama
Supreme Court docket,
where justices ruled again frozen embryos are children and are
therefore subject to legislation dealing with the wrongful deaths of
minors.