Two more fertility clinics announced Thursday they were pausing IVF treatments, citing the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.
The Biden camp directly laid blame on Trump for the developments.
“A court in Alabama put access to some fertility treatments at risk for families who are desperately trying to get pregnant. The
disregard for women’s ability to make these decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable,” President Biden said in a statement. “Make no mistake: this is a direct result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.”
Biden’s 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez argued in a statement that “[w]hat is happening in Alabama right now is only possible because Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade.”
“Across the nation, MAGA Republicans are inserting themselves into the most personal decisions a family can make, from contraception to IVF,” Rodriguez said.
Trump, the GOP presidential front-runner, has not weighed in yet on the ruling, but his Republican rival Nikki Haley said this week she believes embryos are children
. Still, she stopped short of endorsing the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision.
The specific state law — the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act — allows family members to take legal action if a child’s death is the result of “the wrongful act, omission, or negligence of any person.”
All the fertility clinics that have paused IVF treatments so far have directly cited the risk of legal action now linked to the services they provide in light of the Alabama high court’s ruling.
The state-level ruling has put GOP figures across the country in a precarious position as they reaffirm the court’s decision to consider embryos children while reconciling the real-life consequences.
Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) told reporters on Thursday that he believes an embryo is a child, but acknowledged the difficult situation the ruling has put hopeful parents in.
The senator said, “that’s unfortunate” when asked what he would say to women who no longer have access to IVF treatment.
