At least one clinic in Alabama has resumed in vitro fertilization treatments after the governor signed a bill into law shielding providers from potential legal liability raised by a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children.
Alabama Fertility Specialists performed several embryo transfers Thursday, news outlets reported. Video from CBS News showed staff celebrating with a toast, and Dr. Mamie McLean said seeing patients again was “incredibly exciting.”
"We were able to talk about IVF care,” McLean told CBS News. “We were able to timeline — lots of smiles, lots of hope and optimism.”
Alabama Fertility was among three clinics that paused the procedures after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children.”
The ruling, treating an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics.
The new law, which took effect immediately upon signing Wednesday night, shields providers from prosecution and civil lawsuits “for the damage to or death of an embryo” during IVF services.