Despite the consequences of a state Supreme Court ruling that significantly limited access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) services, Greg Abbott, the governor of Alabama, has voiced his support for the procedure.
People who dispose of embryos can be held responsible for wrongful death, according to a recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court, which also established that frozen embryos are regarded as human beings. Fertility clinics around the state have stopped providing in vitro fertilization treatments because of this, which has put families in a tough spot when it comes to their reproductive health.
Following the summer of 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s judgment in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reversed Roe v. Wade, the choice was shaped in a post-Dobbs decision in America. Several states have repealed the right to an abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy when Roe v. Wade was overturned in the summer of 2022.
Republican lawmakers and officials have voiced their support for safeguarding IVF treatments, even though many Republicans have pushed for anti-abortion legislation to try to save the lives of fetuses. Through a social media statement on Friday, former president Trump urged the Alabama lawmakers to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF.
Some families have fled to other jurisdictions, such as Texas, where access to in vitro fertilization procedures is still available due to the chaos generated by the Alabama Supreme Court judgment. The bill was submitted this week by Anthony Daniels, the Democratic minority leader of the Alabama House of Representatives, and would declare that human embryos kept outside of a uterus do not qualify as human beings for state law.
It is unclear when Republican state senators will introduce comparable legislation, but it is anticipated that they will.
