For lesbian couples in Alabama, court’s embryo ruling is chilling

Elishea Jones has lived in Alabama her entire life, but since the state’s highest court ruled that embryos are legally children last week and three major fertility clinics halted in vitro fertilization procedures because of the potential legal liability, Jones is questioning everything.

“It’s not a political issue. They claim that we’re about saving the babies and what’s good for the children. This is what makes children happen for some families,” said Jones, who attended a rally outside Alabama’s State House on Wednesday to advocate for IVF protections.

Jones, 34, and her wife, Paige, 41, live in Alabaster with their 4-year-old son, Fendley. The couple conceived Fendley through IVF in 2020 and froze three more embryos in the hope of having another child in the future.

Last week, Katherine Robertson, the chief counsel for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, said in a statement that Marshall “has no intention of using the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers.”

Jones said the statement did not give her much comfort: “I don’t trust that.”

One day after the attorney general’s assurance, an explosive device detonated outside Marshall’s office. No one was hurt, but Alabama authorities released a video of the suspect Wednesday in an effort to identify them.

For many same-sex couples, the events of the last week have felt deeply unsettling.

While IVF and other assisted reproductive technology procedures are not unique to same-sex couples, such couples rely on them more than heterosexual couples if they are trying to conceive children biologically.

“Making IVF services off-limits or of uncertain legality disproportionately affects LGBTQ parents,” said Mary Ziegler, a