Alabama clinics resume IVF after Gov. Kay Ivey signs immunity bill

At least two Alabama clinics are resuming in vitro fertilization services after Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that provides civil and criminal immunity to doctors in cases where embryos are damaged or destroyed.

The legislation was part of a political scramble after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children and their destruction could expose clinicians to wrongful death suits. The ruling kicked a broader debate on abortion rights into overdrive and had a chilling effect on IVF providers, who paused treatments because they feared legal jeopardy.

The University of Alabama, Birmingham, health system said it appreciated state lawmakers and Ms. Ivey, a Republican, for “swiftly passing and signing” legislation that provides “some protections.”

“While UAB is moving to promptly resume IVF treatments, we will continue to assess developments and advocate for protections for IVF patients and our providers,” Warner Huh, the chairman of obstetrics and gynecology, said in a video statement.

Alabama Fertility Specialists also said it would get up and running.

“A solution — after 19 days of uncertainty and 14 days of missed opportunities for our patients,” it said on its Facebook page. “What’s next? Transfers and IVF starts this week and more pregnancies and more babies in Alabama. Let’s get to work!”

President Biden and Democrats had seized on the political ramifications of the Alabama court’s decision. They said the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 opened the floodgates to state limits on reproductive choices and was having unintended consequences.

First lady Jill Biden invited a woman whose IVF treatments were paused by the ruling to sit with her Thursday at the State of the Union speech.

Republicans tried to thread the needle between pro-life stances on when life begins and their support for IVF, a treatment that allows many Americans to become parents. Alabama lawmakers, in particular, were under pressure to find a solution.

“IVF is a complex issue, no doubt, and I anticipate there will be more work to come, but right now, I am confident that this legislation will provide the assurances our IVF clinics need and will lead them to resume services immediately,” Ms. Ivey said in signing the immunity bill late Wednesday.

A coalition of pro-life groups had urged Ms. Ivey to veto the legislation, arguing it would “prevent families from seeking justice for the death or harm caused to their children and leave a trail of destructive, immoral implications in its wake.”

Still, Republicans wanted to show they supported IVF as a family-building tool.

“Let me say clearly: Alabama supports growing families through IVF,” Ms. Ivey said.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, is reportedly weighing federal abortion limits if he returns to the White House. Yet he offered vocal support for IVF after the Alabama ruling.

“Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families,” he wrote on Truth Social in February. “We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America.”

Not everyone is satisfied with the Alabama fix. Some pro-choice groups and Democrats say the bill gives doctors immunity but retains personhood rights to embryos, so more sweeping IVF protections are needed.

One clinic, the Mobile Infirmary Center for Reproductive Medicine, said it needed to review the bill before it resumed IVF services.

“We are not reopening until we have legal clarification on the extent of immunity provided by the new Alabama law,” the center told the WKRG television affiliate. “At this time, we believe the law falls short of addressing the fertilized eggs currently stored across the state and leaves challenges for physicians and fertility clinics trying to help deserving families have children of their own.”