Alabama hospital puts pause on IVF in wake of ruling saying frozen embryos are children
A large Alabama hospital has paused in vitro fertilization treatments as health care providers weigh the impact of a state court ruling that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A large Alabama hospital has paused in vitro fertilization treatments as health care providers weigh the impact of a state court ruling that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children.
The University of Alabama Birmingham said in a statement Wednesday that its UAB Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility has paused the treatments “as it evaluates the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision that a cryopreserved embryo is a human being.”
“We are 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 statement emailed by spokeswoman Savannah Koplon read.
Other fertility treatment providers in the state were continuing to provide IVF as lawyers explored the impact of the ruling.
