BIRMINGHAM: "The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system is pausing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that found frozen embryos are children. The decision makes UAB the first known organization in the state to confirm it is pausing the treatment. It's announcement could be the start of what reproductive rights advocates and medical experts have been warning about for days: that the high court's decision could have devastating consequences for Alabamians seeking infertility treatments each year to build their families, and it could soon have profound impacts far beyond the state's borders.

In its unprecedented ruling, the state's Supreme Court said embryos are children, no matter if they're within or out of a uterus, and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death. That decision will likely not only make the already high costs of infertility treatments substantially higher, but will likely also discourage many providers from offering them at all in the state in fear of being held liable for wrongful death, reproductive rights advocates warned.

In a statement on Wednesday, Alabama's Medical Association warned other health systems will likely soon follow.

While the US Supreme Court does have the power to review state top court rulings, the justices in Washington, DC, do not typically take up appeals of state court rulings that don't include an interpretation of the US Constitution or federal law."

https://abc7chicago.com/university-of-alabama-ivf-uab-pauses-supreme-court-rules-embryos-are-children-fertility-specialists/14454918/