Montgomery, Alabama
CNN
—
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey late Wednesday signed into law a bill aimed at protecting IVF patients and providers from legal liability, and some clinics are forced to do so following an unprecedented state Supreme Court ruling. The government plans to lift the hold on some in vitro fertilization services as early as this week. The future of infertility treatment is extremely confusing.
The new law does not address the personality issues that were at the heart of last month's unprecedented ruling in a lawsuit stemming from the mistaken destruction of frozen embryos at a fertility clinic, and experts say It said further efforts would be needed to protect fertility services. The fertility clinic at the center of the lawsuit has suspended services and told CNN that the new law is insufficient to provide the legal protections needed to resume treatment.
A state court has ruled that frozen embryos are human beings and that those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death, imposing national restrictions on reproductive health freedoms and access to IVF. This is accelerating liquidation.
Three of the state's limited IVF providers immediately suspended some services, forcing some families to be sent out of state for treatment and raising the cost of fertility services. There was growing concern that this might be the case.
The Republican-backed bill, which passed the Alabama House and Senate late Wednesday before Ivey's signature, would give donors and patients civil and criminal immunity for destroying or damaging embryos. The purpose is This law applies retroactively.
“The law does not invalidate the Supreme Court's analysis that fetuses should be treated like humans,” Katherine Kraschel, an assistant professor at Northeastern University School of Law, told CNN on Tuesday.
He noted that the law had “a lot of ambiguity in the wording” and that “my advice to clinics would be to give them a significant amount of time before resuming treatment.”
He noted that the text of the law does not clearly define what constitutes an IVF service, and questions remain regarding the storage and transportation of embryos.
Experts have also expressed concern that while the law protects health care providers from legal liability for the destruction of embryos, it could protect them from standard medical malpractice claims.
Republican state Sen. Larry Stutz, the lone vote against the bill in the state Senate, criticized the bill's language, calling it “not an IVF protection bill, but a protection bill for IVF providers and suppliers.” It's a bill,” he said. He said, “It limits the rescue ability of mothers who participate in IVF.''
The bill, introduced by Rep. Terry Collins and Sen. Tim Melson, would provide immediate relief to families who have lost access to IVF services while officials consider more permanent solutions. He pointed out that the purpose was to
“This addresses an immediate issue, and that's what I'm going to do today. Do we need to make a longer decision? Yes, we do,” Collins said Thursday.
“This is a temporary solution,” Melson said Thursday during floor debate on the bill. “This will allow women who are currently in this situation and feel lost to return to the clinic.”
Governor Ivey similarly acknowledged that the new law is a stopgap measure after the court's ruling, and said “more work will be done” to protect IVF.
“I am pleased to sign this important short-term measure to help Alabama couples wishing and praying to become parents grow their families through in vitro fertilization,” Ivey said in a statement late Wednesday. “There is no doubt that IVF is a complex issue and we expect more work to be done in the future, but for now this legislation provides the necessary guarantees for IVF clinics to resume services quickly.” I’m confident we can do it.”
Alabama Fertility in Birmingham, one of the clinics that halted IVF treatment in response to the state court ruling, plans to resume IVF treatment this week..
The clinic canceled at least 35 frozen embryo transfers in the 12 days after suspending treatment. Dr. Mamie MacLean, a physician at the clinic, said patients are already scheduled to continue treatment and the group plans to resume IVF treatment as early as Thursday or Friday.
“We are very hopeful that this bill will immediately, fully and permanently provide IVF treatment in Alabama,” she said. “We can't wait to celebrate with our patients. Honestly, we can't wait to do our first embryo transfer and we can't wait to get our first positive pregnancy test. No… it means even more than it did before.”
MacLean joined his family and other IVF advocates in the Alabama state Legislature last week to call for immediate restoration of services, while lawmakers inside were rushing to pass legislation to protect IVF.
“I appreciate the efforts of our legislators to pass legislation that meets the needs of all stakeholders involved in IVF treatment in Alabama,” said MacLean. “We are grateful that they listened to our voices. We are grateful to the patients who bravely shared their stories and are inspired by the advocacy work on behalf of people with infertility. I’m proud.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, the state's largest health system, also suspended infertility services in response to a state court decision, but announced it would resume in vitro fertilization treatments, said Hannah Echols, a spokeswoman for the university. “We will continue to assess the situation,'' it added.
The Mobile Clinic Reproductive Health Center, a defendant in the state Supreme Court case, has no plans yet to resume IVF services, according to a statement from the clinic.
“As we understand the language of the proposed law, we do not currently intend to reopen our IVF facilities until there is legal clarity on the scope of the exemptions provided by Alabama's new law,” the statement said. said. “Currently, this law is insufficient to address the fertilized eggs currently stored in the state, creating challenges for doctors and fertility clinics seeking to help eligible families have children of their own.” We believe that there is much left.”
The American Society of Reproductive Medicine issued a statement Thursday, warning that IVF providers remain vulnerable without legislation addressing the issue of whether fertilized eggs are legally considered human beings.
“These bills are necessary to give Alabama's fertility doctors the confidence that they can continue to provide the highest standard of care to their patients without putting themselves, their colleagues, or their patients at legal risk. “We believe that the company does not provide a reasonable guarantee,” the statement said.
View this interactive content on CNN.com
The Alabama Supreme Court's decision stems from two lawsuits brought by three sets of parents who underwent in vitro fertilization to have babies and chose to freeze their remaining embryos.
Parents sued an Alabama fertility clinic in 2020, claiming several frozen embryos were dropped on the floor and destroyed. The trial court initially denied the request, but a state Supreme Court decision reversed that decision..
A fourth lawsuit has since been filed against the defendants in this case.
The new law would be applied retroactively, but it likely would not affect cases because the Alabama Constitution says the new law cannot be applied to ongoing cases.
A group representing defendants in the case that led to the Supreme Court's decision that frozen embryos are children has filed a petition asking the court to reconsider the case, according to online records from the Alabama Court of Appeals.
The group is asking the court to reconsider the decision, but it could take more than six weeks for a judge to decide whether to grant a request to rehear the case, an Alabama court official told CNN. Ta.
Some legal experts are skeptical that the court will agree to reconsider the case.
Even as some clinics plan to reopen, the court's decision could continue to impact Alabama families, Kraschel said.
“Courts, especially Alabama, may cite the Alabama Supreme Court's decision to treat unborn children as people in other areas of the law,” she said.
