It took a few days for the Feb. 16 Alabama Supreme Court ruling to sink in across the state and nation. In an 8–1 decision, the court said frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.
When the news surfaced in widespread fashion the following week, the response was swift.
Media outlets, late night shows and conversations around kitchen tables and out in the public square took flight.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) clinics in the state also shocked the public by halting services in fear of potential lawsuits.
Alabama legislators and public officials stepped in quickly in an attempt to calm the chaos, pushing other agendas aside to focus on the unexpected fallout from the ruling.
At least three pieces of legislation were filed in Alabama within a week of the ruling to help remedy the situation, and people of influence at all levels began to speak out.
By the end of the month (Feb. 29 to be exact), each house passed legislation granting immunity to IVF clinics. The bills are anticipated to become one early next week and will soon be headed to Gov. Kay Ivey to sign. The bills were sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins in the House (which passed 94–6) and Sen. Tim Melson in the Senate (which passed 32–0) and protects providers from the “damage to or death of an embryo” during IVF services.
While the goal to allow clinics the protection they need to reopen was achieved, several voices are concerned the legislation didn’t go far enough to protect unused embryos and what could potentially lead to a discarding of them. Greg Davis discusses the legislation on the Feb. 29 Priority Talk Radio show, and The Alabama Baptist will follow up with more on what all of this means in the coming days.
Why the clinics froze service
Even though the initial reaction to the court ruling by IVF clinics shook the world of couples seeking to be parents and already in process of the IVF procedures, officials in some clinics in the state paused services reportedly out of fear of potential lawsuits following the court decision.
Birmingham attorney Eric Johnston called the current situation “a real dilemma,” where there’s not an easy answer.
Speaking with Davis in a Feb. 22 interview on Priority Talk Radio, Johnston said, “We’ve got ethical, legal, political and medical considerations all overlapping each other and trying to figure out what to do.
“This is not about abortion, it’s about human life,” he said. “It’s [about], how do we reconcile these medical advancements … with sanctity of life?”
The medical community doesn’t know what to do at this point, Johnston explained.
“Lawsuits could possibly go back to embryos who were destroyed earlier.
“IVF is not going to go away as such … but it’s a difficult policy decision. … The constitutional amendment says the unborn child is entitled to protection (and the court has ruled the unborn) includes IVF children. … The Legislature can’t come in with a mere statute and change it and correct it. It’s going to be more difficult than that.”
Clinics ‘not outlawed’
Still, numerous state policy watchdogs were confident from the beginning that the ruling does not and should not impact IVF in Alabama.
According to Eagle Forum of Alabama, “The Alabama Supreme Court did not outlaw IVF nor their services. Because the Alabama Supreme Court rightly interpreted the law, as well as our Alabama Constitution, IVF clients are parents and their embryos are their children. Parents have rights to their children.
“There is no excuse for any Alabama IVF clinics not to fulfill their commitments to their patients.
“IVF parents and their children deserve our utmost compassion, support and guidance, so that clinics will continue to serve families and all children are protected,” said Eunie Smith, president, and Christine C. Carr, CRNA and health policy adviser, for Eagle Forum.
The Alabama Policy Institute also says the “ruling didn’t close clinics or make IVF illegal in the State of Alabama. Rhetoric and narratives that assert that to be the case are patently false and should be called such.”
Embryo adoption
Watching the various moving parts related to the ruling and responses the past couple of weeks reminded me of coverage we’ve done in the past regarding the potential for adoption of frozen embryos. Read more here.
The Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program from Nightlight Christian Adoptions allows couples to donate extra and remaining embryos created after IVF, so other couples can adopt them and give birth to their adopted child.
We’ll check into an updated feature on the program and see how the recent ruling might impact the adoption process.
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