What does Alabama embryo ruling mean for Black women, future of IVF?
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By Laura Onyeneho, Defender
The Alabama Supreme Court recently declared frozen embryos as legally recognized children, sending shockwaves through the landscape of reproductive rights. The decision, stemming from wrongful death cases involving the destruction of frozen embryos in a fertility clinic accident, relies on anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution and applies an 1872 state law broadly to include “all unborn children, regardless of their location.”
This narrow yet far-reaching ruling has left medical professionals, current IVF patients, and those contemplating fertility treatments grappling with uncertainty and potential obstacles. The implications extend beyond the immediate cases, raising profound concerns about the accessibility and affordability of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and challenging established reproductive rights.
The Defender spoke with Dr. Stephanie Marshall Thompson, a distinguished board-certified reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist affiliated with CCRM Fertility in New Jersey, who lends her expertise to unravel the layers of this complex issue.
Read Dr. Thompson’s thoughts on the matter.
Abortion bans also have an outsized effect on Black women.
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