“ReproTech will continue to accept embryos from Alabama for long-term storage at our facilities. Patients can rest assured that we will continue to offer safe, reliable shipping to and from Alabama,” the company said in a statement.
At least one other embryo shipping company will continue to operate in Alabama, though. The CEO of IVF CRYO, Don Fish, said in a statement Friday that his company “will continue to service patients and clinics in the state of Alabama regardless of the increased legal complexity and risk that our business now take[s] on.”
The Alabama high court’s ruling is only one week old and yet is already kneecapping the state’s fertility industry. The state Supreme Court ruled last week that embryos created through IVF can be considered children and are thus protected under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. Since it’s common for fertilized eggs not to survive the IVF process, the ruling puts doctors and clinics at risk of being charged for wrongful death of embryos.