JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local mom who went through in vitro fertilization and a local doctor are weighing in on the controversial ruling in Alabama regarding frozen embryos. The ruling says embryos are legally protected children, which is why some IVF centers there paused treatments.
Kathy and Jamil Fakhouri had little Luke four months ago, after struggling to get pregnant naturally for two-and-a-half years. “Baby Luke is our first baby. We got him with the help of IVF,” Kathy said.
“My body couldn’t do what it needed to do to become a mother, so we had to do the scientific route,” she said.
In Alabama, people are protesting to have access to IVF treatments, after the state’s Supreme Court passed a ruling classifying embryos as protected “children.”
The ruling came after a wrongful death lawsuit was filed by couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed accidentally at a fertility clinic. The couples sued the clinic which is one of many Alabama IVF facilities that paused fertility treatments after the ruling.
Dr. Samuel Brown is the Brown Fertility Medical Director in Jacksonville. “They’re trying to say that one frozen embryo equals one child and that’s just not correct.”
In Florida, a similar bill was moving through the House and Senate, but is no longer moving forward. It’s called “fetal personhood bill” which considers a fetus an “unborn child.”
Dr. Brown weighed in on the bill and the difference from the Alabama ruling. “In Florida, the bill doesn’t quite pertain to the same issues as in Alabama. Saying as one frozen embryo equals one child, they [Florida lawmakers] were about to make a bill for a fetus.”
Brown explains the difference between an embryo and fetus. “When an egg and sperm come together it makes an embryo. We watch those for five days before we put them back in the woman’s body and most of those don’t stick. A fetus is different. A fetus is weeks and months later, after a pregnancy is established in a woman’s body.”
He says legislators need to do more research before considering any bills that could have negative health implications. “They need to be educated, they need to please reach out to the scientific physician, medial staff to be educated before they make sweeping changes or decisions.”