A new fallout after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling declaring
that embryos are children.
More clinics now pausing their IVF services,
leaving patients and providers in limbo.
And Elizabeth Schulze is in Birmingham,
AL, with more Good morning,
Elizabeth.
Good morning, Rebecca. New IVF treatments are currently on hold
here at
Alabama's biggest hospital. Families who are patients here tell us
that they haven't even heard from their providers about what
happens next.
There are so many questions and very few answers as
that Supreme Court decision ripples across the state and country.
This morning, IVF treatments are on pause at nearly half
of
Alabama's fertility clinics as doctors and families grapple with that
controversial state Supreme Court ruling.
I want to be a mom and
we want to build a family,
and I think that should be our choice.
Emily Capellito and her husband James stored their embryos at
the University of Alabama,
Birmingham. It's the biggest of three providers that have now
halted new IVF treatments,
the process used by
238,000 Americans every year to help get pregnant.
This is an incredibly grueling physical,
mental and emotional process. The couple has spent more than
$50,000 on treatments over 2 years,
and it hoped to schedule their first embryo transfer next
month.
I do feel like that timeline is in jeopardy.
We are on an indefinite pause.
The reason for the pause?
Doctors like Beth Malicia at Alabama Fertility Specialists fear they
could now face wrongful death charges for discarding unused embryos,
a typical part of the IVF process.
Some really, really hard phone calls over the last couple
days to patients.
Alabama Supreme Court decision made it the first state to
determine frozen embryos are children.
President Biden in a statement saying the ruling is a
direct result of the overturning of Roe V Wade,
arguing that laid the groundwork for states to impose restrictions
on women's reproductive rights.
IVF patient Tori Beasley tells us she's dejected that the
courts are deciding her family's future.
How does someone else get to dictate
what I say, what I what I want for my
family?
She was scheduled to have an embryo transfer March 4th,
her doctor calling late Thursday to say the procedure was
cancelled.
You stay in a state of hope,
I guess. Just being hopeful.
Are you hopeful today?
Still hopeful.
That's all I have right now.
Many of the families we've been speaking with say that
they don't have the option financially and they don't want
to leave home here to do IVF in another state.
They also don't know if legally they could move their
embryos to another state without facing liability.
Lawmakers here did introduce legislation to protect IVF,
but it would still need to pass the Republican legislature,
Rebecca, And that IVF is such a significant undertaking as
it is.
And your heart really goes out to those families caught
in the middle.
OK, Elizabeth. Thank you.