The Supreme Court overturned abortion rights on Friday in a decision that could make it harder for Americans to access fertility treatments and other reproductive health care.
Critics fear that the language of the abortion ban could be used to outlaw the procedure.
According to Forbes, some state-level abortion bans may include assisted reproductive technology like in-vitro fertilization.
Sean Tipton, the chief advocacy, policy and development officer for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, told Forbes that the wording of the laws in some states could affect access to ART.
If abortion is overturned, the legality of in-vivo fertilization, where surplus embryos are frozen or discarded, could be thrown into question.
Seema Mohapatra is a health law and bioethics expert at Southern Methodist University.
There is an immediate risk of losing access to the procedure if it is considered an abortion in some states.
Mohapatra warns that overturning Roe could make it harder for people to access reproductive medicine. Black women are more likely to experience infertility than white women. If restrictions are put in place that limit the number of embryos made or implanted, it will lead to lower chances of successful pregnancies and more costs. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer community will often use ART to have children.
Not outlawing ART and IVF will not be a consequence of overturning Wade. There aretrigger laws in place in Kentucky, Texas and Louisiana that could make it illegal to have an abortion. The life of an unborn child or an unborn human being will be defined by these states as starting at fertilization. Some states explicitly exempt birth control from applying under the abortion ban, while others don't. Alabama enacted an abortion ban that is now blocked but will likely take effect if the Supreme Court overturns the decision. Oklahoma, which became the first state to completely ban abortion in May, is now banning the procedure starting at fertilization, which has raised concerns among fertility experts. If the laws don't specifically exempt, "fetal personhood" bills that grant fetus and embryo the same legal rights as humans have out of the womb could be more common. Six states have introduced personhood bills in the last two years.
There is the status of the embryo. According to Forbes, a law school professor said that the wording of some state laws could be read so that they include ex-vivo. It's possible that this will restrict access to IVF or the preimplantation genetic tests used to pick embryos. Though noted embryo selection based on the lack of a disability might be an exception, it is not likely that a judge would be inclined towards such a reading. There are new legislative efforts that are unlikely to succeed. Most anti-abortion people don't care about ex vivo embryos because they are created to help people have children. People having babies are liked by them.
Lawmakers behind the bills have denied that the abortion ban could affect the procedure. The bill clearly states that abortion is a procedure to end a pregnant woman's life. Wendy Stearman, who sponsored the state's abortion ban that has already taken effect, said there is no way that it can be interpreted as affecting what's going on in a lab. If it was brought up, I don't think it would be a success.
83,955. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2% of all infant births in the U.S. were conceived through ART, including in-vitro fertilization.
The Supreme Court overturned Wade on Friday as part of a case regarding Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban and whether states can restrict the procedure even before a fetus is viable. Justice Samuel Alito argued that the case should be thrown out because the right to an abortion is not explicitly stated in the constitution. Four justices signed on to Alito's opinion, but the court's three liberals dissented. A wave of outrage from abortion rights advocates and increased efforts to restrict and shore up abortion access followed the decision after a draft opinion from February suggested the court would take such a step.
How Americans Really Feel about Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results.
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