Alabama hospital to stop IVF treatments at the end of 2024 due to 'litigation concerns'

An Alabama hospital said it plans to stop offering in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments at the end of this year due to “litigation concerns” surrounding the therapy. 

Mobile Infirmary said “it will no longer be able to offer” IVF services in a news release on Wednesday. The decision follows Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling that people who destroy frozen embryos can be liable for wrongful death.  

“In order to assist families in Alabama and along the Gulf Coast who have initiated the process of IVF therapy in the hopes of starting a family, Mobile Infirmary has temporarily resumed IVF treatments at the hospital,” the hospital said. “However, in light of litigation concerns surrounding IVF therapy, Mobile Infirmary will no longer be able to offer this service to families after December 31, 2024.” 

The state’s Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos are children under state law and can be subject to legislation regarding the wrongful death of a minor. The majority decision came after a lawsuit was filed by a group of IVF patients whose frozen embryos were destroyed after a patient removed them from the cryogenic storage unit, dropping them on the floor in December 2020. 

Mobile Infirmary was in the mix of the two lawsuits from 2020 and additional litigation following the court’s February ruling.  

Following the court’s decision, three hospitals halted offering IVF treatments the following week. 

Some clinics resumed after the state’s Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed new protections for providers and patients last month.