Alabama hospital halts IVF treatment over fear of prosecution

A recent Alabama The Supreme Court ruling declaring fertilized embryos to be “ectopic children” is already affecting fertility clinics across the state, with one of the largest hospitals temporarily halting IVF treatments.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System announced Wednesday that it is discontinuing IVF treatments following the ruling. The University Hospital, the flagship hospital of the health system, is among the largest hospitals in the United States, with over 1,200 hospital beds.

“We have to assess the possibility that our patients and our doctors may be prosecuted or face punitive damages for meeting the standard of care for IVF treatments,” said Hannah Echols, UAB spokeswoman. an email to AL.com.

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley expressed support for the Alabama court's decision Wednesday, saying “fetuses, to me, are babies.”

“When you talk about a fetus, for me, that's a life” Haley told NBC News in an interview. She added that she used artificial insemination to have her son, Nalin.

UAB's sudden pause reflects the gray area left after the state court decision and echoes the Supreme Court's overturning decision Roe v. Wadewhich threw abortion providers across the country into turmoil.

The cases that led to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling involved the Center for Reproductive Medicine, a fertility clinic in Mobile, Alabama, which was sued by three couples. All the couples had undergone IVF treatment at the clinic, but lost the embryos after they were removed from frozen storage. They sought damages under Alabama's wrongful death bylaw and were granted in a near-unanimous decision by the state's highest court.

Advocates have warned that the ruling could affect fertility treatments statewide — and potentially nationally — if it is appealed in federal courts.

Dana Sussman, deputy executive director of the legal advocacy group Pregnancy Justice, said Rolling rock the decision could further entrench anti-abortion politics through its rhetoric around fertilized embryos.

“It leaves the door wide open to make this argument with a straight face next time … in the context of not just IVF babies, but also fetuses or 'unborn life' who have these 14th Amendment rights.” , Sussman said.