IVF in Texas: Texans on both sides of the aisle are debating the future of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the state after the Alabama Supreme Court decided that frozen embryos produced through IVF can be considered children.
The Alabama ruling was made in response to a complaint filed by many couples who claimed that a fertility clinic should have been held accountable under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act because the clinic’s carelessness destroyed frozen embryos. A few of the state’s IVF providers announced they would stop offering these treatments after the court’s decision. Additionally, a large hospital reported that, despite patient requests to relocate the embryos, no company was willing to ship them to another state for storage.
Following the Alabama verdict, several patients have expressed concern to Dr. David Prokai, a fertility specialist at Aspire Fertility Austin, regarding their ability to access IVF and embryo storage going forward. What concerns should I have concerning the embryos I’ve previously frozen? was their question. Is it now safe for me to start freezing my eggs in Texas? For fertility treatments, should I take a plane to another state?
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“I’ve been trying my hardest to respond to all of them and convey the message that things are going as normal as of right now,” Prokai stated.
Abbott’s Respons
In an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF), reiterating the position of former President Donald Trump that IVF is a crucial component of the “miracle of life.” But according to the governor, there were some “complex questions” about IVF that needed to be addressed, like what would happen to a couple’s frozen embryos in the event of their divorce or death.
“I think you’re going to see states across the entire country coming together and grappling with these issues and coming up with solutions,” he said.
Abbott stated he anticipated Texas will be “among the states that will be addressing this issue” in response to a question about whether he would encourage the Texas Legislature to take up IVF-related legislation.
“Texas is a pro-life state and we want to do everything possible that we can to maintain Texas being a pro-life state,” he said, “but at the very same time … we as a state want to ensure that we promote life, we bring more life into the world and we empower parents to be able to have more children.”
Texas Alliance for Life is an anti-abortion organization, and Amy O’Donnell, director of communications, stated that the organization is in favor of keeping IVF accessible. She clarified, though, that the group supports options such as embryo adoption, in which donors contribute embryos they do not intend to utilize, and feels that embryos developed through IVF should not be thrown out.
“We do believe that there is a way to protect life from the moment of an embryo’s fertilization while still allowing families the opportunity to bring forth life through the IVF process,” O’Donnell stated. “It is something that we trust the Legislature is going to be looking into.”
According to KERA, Texas state representative Mihaela Plesa (D-Plano) has urged Abbott to safeguard state access to infertility treatment. In a petition he started, Plesa urged the Texas legislature “to not only maintain but improve access and affordability of IVF treatments.”
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The view from the laboratory
Prokai claimed that attempts to restrict the quantity of IVF embryos produced or to legally categorize embryos as children “fundamentally threaten” the procedure.
“One of the biggest ways that we can increase a couple’s chances is by growing more eggs and making more embryos,” he stated. “This is the specific area that laws that try to limit the number of embryos formed, or embryos that can be frozen, directly attack.”
Similar to human natural reproduction, there are many unknowns involved in the IVF procedure. According to Prokai, only a small percentage of patient eggs are frequently mature enough for sperm to fertilize them in a lab. Up to half of the fertilized eggs that develop into embryos are not large enough to be placed in a uterus. Up to 90% of embryos may be judged genetically sick at that point, meaning they lack the necessary number of chromosomes to result in a viable pregnancy. Furthermore, up to 40% of transferred embryos, even those in good health, do not implant or give birth to a living child.
According to Prokai, decisions are made regarding what to do with surplus frozen embryos. Certain patients prefer to anonymously adopt embryos or donate them to friends and relatives. Additionally, some patients decide to discard them.
“It’s not any sort of graphic or maniacal process,” he stated. “All that needs to be done is remove them from the freezing solution. They reach room temperature and, if they are not transmitted within a specific period, simply vanish.”
Regarding Abbott’s inquiries concerning what happens to embryos in the event of death or divorce, Prokai responded that before undergoing IVF, couples can sign agreements outlining what will happen to these embryos.
Prokai stated that as of right now, he is not aware of any proposed legislation in Texas that would worry him or his colleagues. He expressed his hope that states will eventually clarify laws to protect IVF from any legislation that seeks to legally treat embryos as children, given the attention the Alabama ruling brought to the practice.
“I’m hopeful that people will come forward — both privately and publicly — to bring attention to what we do, why we do it, how much care we put in terms of all our patients and all their embryos,” he said, “and ultimately [create] some codified laws that protect IVF.”
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