Alabama university pauses IVF care after frozen embryos deemed 'children' [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Wed 21 Feb 2024 15.13 EST
A medical school in Alabama has paused in vitro fertilization procedures in the wake of the first-of-its-kind decision made by the state’s supreme court on Friday, which ruled that frozen embryos are “children”. The decision has been widely seen as one that would have serious implications for people seeking in vitro fertilization (IVF) or other assisted reproductive technology treatments.
On Wednesday, spokesperson Savannah Koplon said on behalf of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a research university and academic medical center that is also the largest healthcare provider in the state, that the institution was “saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF, but we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments”.
“The UAB Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility has paused in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments as it evaluates the Alabama supreme court’s decision that a cryopreserved embryo is a human being,” a statement said.
The statement also emphasized that solely IVF treatment is paused. “Everything through egg retrieval remains in place. Egg fertilization and embryo development is paused,” it read. The university notably houses a division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/21/university-alabama-ivf-embryo-care-paused-supreme-court-ruling
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