Two Alabama fertility clinics say they will resume IVF services after bill to protect doctors passes
Two Alabama fertility clinics that paused IVF services say they will resume now that state lawmakers passed a bill to protect doctors and clinics that provide IVF.
Two Alabama fertility clinics that paused in vitro fertilization services last month expect to resume them now that state lawmakers have passed a bill to protect doctors and clinics that discard embryos as part of routine IVF services.
The bill "provides the protections that we need to start care — or resume care, really," said Dr. Janet Bouknight, an IVF provider at Alabama Fertility, which suspended IVF services Feb. 22 after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered unborn children.
Bouknight said the clinic does around 10 egg retrievals and 10 frozen embryo transfers per week, so around 40 patients may not have received promised care during the pause in IVF services.
Dr. Warner Huh, chair of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said in a video statement that the bill "provides some protections and will therefore allow UAB to restart in vitro fertilization treatments, also known as IVF."
"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," he continued.
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