What is IVF treatment? Does the Alabama personhood decision affect Florida couples who want kids?
A Florida bill that would have allowed civil lawsuits for the wrongful death of a fetus, which it defined as an "unborn child" in a move that brought criticism from abortion rights advocates, is on hold for now.
Alabama's controversial Supreme Court ruling defining frozen embryos as children and the subsequent abrupt closing of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment clinics in self-defense kicked off a national debate on a process used by many Americans who struggle to have children.
Republican leaders who had been steadily advancing abortion restrictions since the Supreme Court toppled Rowe v. Wade scrambled to defend IVF following support for the procedures from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump.
Florida Democrats called for federal protection for IVF. On Wednesday Senator and former Florida governor Rick Scott, along with Rep. Kat Cammack, FL-3, introduced a resolution supporting IVF procedures.
With blazing speed, Alabama lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pushed through new legislation Wednesday protecting IVF providers and patients.
But what are Florida's IVF laws now?
What is in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment?
In vitro fertilization or IVF is a series of treatments for infertility. It starts with medication to stimulate ovary follicle growth. Then human eggs and sperm are combined and fertilized eggs, called embryos, are placed inside the uterus in the hopes one develops into a fetus. Other fertilized embryos may be frozen for later use.
The process is lengthy, complicated and often expensive but it's the most effective type of fertility treatment available for desperate would-be parents that involves the handling of eggs, sperm and embryos, according to the Mayo Clinic.
IVF can be done with a couple's own eggs and sperm or may involve a donor for either one in cases of infertility or low sperm count. The embryo may be placed inside the egg donor, or it may be put inside a different person if the patient is unable to carry the fetus personally. IVF is also used to prevent passing genetic problems on to a child.
How many people use IVF to have children?
IVF is extremely popular.
About 2 out of every hundred babies born in the U.S. are the result of IVF treatments, according to Dr. Zev Williams, director of the Columbia University Fertility Center. In June last year, the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART) estimated that "at least 12 million babies" were born from IVF since the first one in 1978.
How does IVF actually work? Plus what the process is like and how much it costs.
Why did Alabama's IVF clinics close?
Within a week after the Alabama Supreme Court invoked the "wrath of a Holy God" and ruled that some aspects of IVF were a form of abortion and should be banned, three Alabama IVF providers closed up shop for fear of criminal prosecution or civil penalties, leaving patients in various stages of treatment in limbo.
With the passing of the new law, the clinics should reopen.
What are Florida's IVF laws?
“Assisted reproductive technology,” or "procreative procedures which involve the laboratory handling of human eggs or pre-embryos" is legal in Florida. Where it does appears on the books is in laws passed starting in 1993 that define parentage, ownership of the sperm, eggs and embryos, and legal responsibilities.
According to Florida statutes:
A child born from IVF or similar methods is considered to be the offspring of the donors, provided both donors have consented to the insemination and there is no contractual reason otherwise.
Donors of eggs and sperm for other people's use in fertilization give up all rights and obligations to any resulting children, absent any contracts stating otherwise.
Gestational surrogates must be 18 or older and may only be used by legally married couples who are both 18 or older with the commissioning mother unable to carry a pregnancy to term for medical reasons. Upon birth, the commissioning parents assume full parental rights and obligations.
The commissioning couple should enter into a written agreement with the clinic over the disposition of eggs, sperm and embryos in the case of divorce, death of a spouse or other unforeseen circumstances. Without one, the remaining eggs and sperm belong to their original donors and the couple must decide what happens to unused embryos.
How would Florida's 'unborn child' bill affect IVF treatments?
SB 476 would have allowed a parent of an unborn fetus to recover damages for "pain and suffering" from whoever caused its death, not including the mother.
The bill also defined a fetus as an "unborn child," which critics called part of a push toward fetal personhood by people working to end legal abortion. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, denied that it was filed as an abortion bill.
In the Alabama case, wrongful death lawsuits were brought by couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed by accident at a fertility clinic. The judge ruled that frozen embryos had the same rights and protections as children. Opponents of Grall's bill say it opens the door to a similar ruling in Florida.
After the Alabama ruling and the controversy from it, Grall said the bill may need reworking before ultimately putting it on hold. The Florida Legislative Session ends Friday, so absent an unexpected last-minute vote, the bill is effectively dead for now but may be reintroduced at a later time.
How much do IVF treatments cost in Florida?
IVF treatments can range quite a bit as repeated cycles of treatments are often necessary to achieve a pregnancy. Prices can run higher in big cities, and some clinics offer additional services such as medication, embryo testing and cryopreservation (freezing) of embryos or eggs.
On average, a single IVF cycle can run from $7,900 to $30,000 in Florida, depending on individual circumstances, according to fertility information site Blooming Eve.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: IVF treatment laws in Florida: What's currently legal, what isn't
