Fertility doctors ‘terrified’ by Alabama court ruling that classifies embryos as unborn children

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling that classified frozen embryos as children under state law has left fertility doctors “terrified” and may force clinics to close their doors, campaigners have warned.

In a decision that could have profound consequences for both patients seeking fertility care and the medical professionals that provide it, the state’s highest court allowed for a wrongful death lawsuit to be brought over the destruction of frozen embryos in an incident at an Alabama clinic in 2020.

By classifying the frozen embryos as unborn children in their ruling, the justices opened the way for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit — three couples whose fertilised embryos were destroyed — to seek damages from the clinic for wrongful death.

That ruling may force clinics that provide in vitro fertilisation, or IVF, treatment to close over fears of being held liable for any damage to embryos during the freezing process, according to Sean Tipton, policy officer with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

“Physicians and the other staff at the infertility clinics in Alabama are terrified, justifiably so,” Mr Tipton told The Independent, after speaking with doctors in the state. “If, right now, they provide state-of-the-art recommended care to their patients, they’re putting themselves and their businesses at incredible risk.”

Pro-choice groups like the ASRM have warned that anti-abortion campaigners view the battle over embryos as their next fight, following a successful, decades-long campaign to overturn Roe v Wade.

“Clearly this is part of a very fierce anti-choice agenda in the state of Alabama. This is this is abortion politics through and through,” Mr Tipton said of the ruling.

The process of IVF often requires