‘I’m devastated’: Alabama IVF patients turn to GoFundMe for help after state ruling halts fertility services

by | Feb 28, 2024 | Stock Market

When Heather Maurer first saw on the news that Alabama’s Supreme Court had ruled that frozen embryos could be considered “extrauterine children” under state law, she didn’t think much of it.  She and her husband, Chris Maurer, had already scheduled an appointment in March to transfer their final embryo — implanting it in the uterus to begin pregnancy — at a fertility center in Birmingham. The pair, who had started the fertility treatments more than four years ago in Alabama before moving to Sacramento, had already bought their flight tickets.

But hours later, Maurer got a call from her doctor. The clinic was halting all in vitro fertilization procedures until further notice, the doctor told her. Moving the embryos to a different clinic also wouldn’t be possible. Maurer’s plans to have a second child were now in a state of uncertainty. “I honestly cried for a couple of hours after, just not knowing what to do,” said Maurer, 38. She had her 19-month-old son, Maximus, thanks to IVF treatment in Birmingham. The Maurers are one of many families that will now see their reproductive care disrupted as a result of the court’s ruling that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments can be considered children under state law.  In addition to disappointment and confusion regarding the future of their car …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnWhen Heather Maurer first saw on the news that Alabama’s Supreme Court had ruled that frozen embryos could be considered “extrauterine children” under state law, she didn’t think much of it.  She and her husband, Chris Maurer, had already scheduled an appointment in March to transfer their final embryo — implanting it in the uterus to begin pregnancy — at a fertility center in Birmingham. The pair, who had started the fertility treatments more than four years ago in Alabama before moving to Sacramento, had already bought their flight tickets.

But hours later, Maurer got a call from her doctor. The clinic was halting all in vitro fertilization procedures until further notice, the doctor told her. Moving the embryos to a different clinic also wouldn’t be possible. Maurer’s plans to have a second child were now in a state of uncertainty. “I honestly cried for a couple of hours after, just not knowing what to do,” said Maurer, 38. She had her 19-month-old son, Maximus, thanks to IVF treatment in Birmingham. The Maurers are one of many families that will now see their reproductive care disrupted as a result of the court’s ruling that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments can be considered children under state law.  In addition to disappointment and confusion regarding the future of their car …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]

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