The recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be considered “extrauterine children” and, therefore, human beings had an immediate chilling effect on IVF facilities in the state, where at least three in vitro fertilization providers to date have already halted services in the decision’s wake. It’s also the latest challenge for women’s and family health-focused tech startups in a femtech space grappling with restrictive new state laws that take aim at abortion, contraception, and family planning services following the U.S. Supreme Court’s gutting of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The controversial legal and questionable science behind the Alabama court decision—and the reality that Americans have relied on IVF for 8 million babies born in the U.S.—has galvanized backlash from the medical and scientific communities, as well as condemnation from politicians across the political spectrum. About one in ten American women report using fertility services, according to a 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center, with 2% of respondents saying they use IVF, typically after less-invasive and cheaper fertility treatments have failed them and their partners.
Kate Ryder, CEO of Maven, which provides digital platforms to guide users to fertility and family planning resources (among other women’s health services such as cervical screenings), slammed the Alabama ruling in a LinkedIn post. “If you’re a fertility patient, you’re likely singularly focused on building your family. It is on your mind every day, and you’re willing to do whatever it takes—depleting your savings, injecting yourself multiple times a day—in hopes that it will lead to a baby. But if you are a patient in Alabama, as of last Friday, your journey has just become wrenching,” Ryder wrote.
“IVF is about making as many healthy embryos as possible to get to a successful pregnancy. But now your embryos, whether genetically viable or not, cannot be destroyed because they are considered ‘children.’ Alabama is the first state, and the first place in the world, to make this legal ruling—which goes against every major fertility medical organization and even the Medical Association of the State of Alabama,” she continued.
Ryder isn’t alone in her outrage. Other femtech startups, including those specializing in services like egg freezing and IVF, were equally blunt. New York-based Kindbody, for instance, posted a featured statement on its site slamming the decision.
“For many of our patients, embryos represent the hope of realizing their dream of starting or expanding their families. The Alabama Supreme Court ruling undermines this hope by subjecting embryos to legal scrutiny and forcing patients to live with the devastating prospect of not having the ability to make decisions about their reproductive futures,” wrote Angie Beltsos, Kindbody chief executive physician and CEO of clinical operations, in a scathing post. “It will restrict access to and drive up costs of essential care that is needed by many, and is already inaccessible to most. The Supreme Court decision directly contradicts the scientific advancements that provide today the best chance of success and moreover will restrict access to care for people in need.”
Tech startups connecting women to reproductive and family planning services are grappling with a shifting political environment, especially in socially conservative states such as Alabama, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to roll back Roe v. Wade and its effects on access to reproductive health services like abortion. Investor funding in the space has also stalled, according to PitchBook. Alabama’s IVF ruling is yet another challenge these young companies, and the patients who rely on them, must tackle.
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