Alabama court ruling could put a California woman’s planned pregnancy in limbo

A Northern California mother is distraught because an Alabama State Supreme Court decision over embryos could put her planned pregnancy in jeopardy.

Justices in Alabama recently ruled that embryos have the same rights as children. The ruling opens the door for families who lost frozen embryos to sue facilities for wrongful death. 

It’s had a chilling effect on fertility clinics, causing them to halt treatments while they sort out the legal implications.

Alabama legislators are working on measures to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF) services in the state.

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In the meantime, a mother in Lincoln, California tells FOX40.com exclusively that her last chance at carrying a biological child is in limbo because her embryo is at an Alabama clinic, and she and her partner are frantically trying to retrieve it.

Heather Maurer said to FOX40.com that she was about four weeks out from being transferred her second embryo. She had plans of moving back to Florida and raising two little boys once her husband retires in the summer.

But after seeing a story about the Alabama court ruling and receiving an immediate call from her doctor dashed her dreams.

Maurer fears another pregnancy will never happen.

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“Now, we…we are just at a loss. We don’t know what to do,” Maurer said.

Maurer and her husband Christopher tried getting pregnant for three years.

“It was very emotionally draining because every test and procedure that was performed came back with nothing,” Maurer said.

In December 2020, the couple was introduced to in vitro fertilization and made a last-ditch visit to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to help them become parents.

“My egg retrieval resulted in 11 eggs. Of those 11, seven were fertilized, and of those seven, three resulted in embryos. Of those three, only two were viable after genetic testing,” she said.

Nineteen months ago, one of those embryos developed into Maximus, the couple’s first baby boy, who was born at Sutter Health in Roseville in the summer of 2022.

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“We’ve been married almost 14 years and he’s like, ‘the happiest you’ve ever been is getting pregnant with Maximus and becoming a mother,’” Maurer recalled her husband saying to her.

They didn’t want to wait for another child. After a procedure to prepare her for another pregnancy, Maurer was cleared to transfer her final embryo just one month ago.

The couple hoped to give Maximus a little brother.

But after weeks of injections and medications, monitoring showed her body wasn’t ready for another baby.

“I’m told no, and that was upsetting and it hurt a lot,” Maurer said.

Her situation improved and she re-booked her transfer for March 20, but then she said she found out about the court ruling on FOX 40 News on her television.

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“I found out… that Alabama passed a law that embryos are children, and initially I didn’t think anything of it because why would I? I already have my scheduled transfer date,” Maurer said.

“My doctor from UAB called and stated that they’ve halted all IVF treatments and they will not be going forward,” Maurer recalled.

“We had everything lined up and ready to go and it was just taken away from us,” Maurer said.

Clinics in Alabama are halting treatments since they may now potentially be held liable for any damages to embryos.

The UAB clinic where the Maurer’s embryo is frozen said to FOX40.com, “The UAB division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility has paused IVF treatments as it evaluates the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision…we are saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF, but we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments.”

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Maurer said that after hearing from the clinic, “I cried myself to sleep…this is our last embryo. This is our only chance.”

Maurer vows to fight until the bitter end to have her second baby.

“We will take legal matters and force our embryo out of the state of Alabama if that’s what it takes,” Maurer said.

“We will do whatever we have to to expand our family. We don’t have any other choice,” she added.

Now the battle is getting the embryo released from UAB and the state of Alabama.

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Maurer is meeting with doctors at an IVF clinic in Sacramento to see if they’ll accept a transport and do the transfer here.

But she’s been told by UAB that the clinic there can’t find anyone willing to risk transporting the embryo, so she says she’ll file a petition with the state of Alabama if she has to. A GoFundMe was also created to support the family.

Regarding the bills meant to change the Alabama law, it is not clear when they will come up in committee to be considered, meaning it could be some time before clinics and families have clarity on the fate of their embryos.

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