There has been a rising debate around fertility treatments and the right to abortion. While this has been an issue among women and courts for decades, the argument became politically charged when the Supreme Court decided to overrule the Roe v. Wade case.
This decision has sparked fear, rage, and protests in our country as it threatens women’s rights to their bodies. The future of fertility treatments like IVF and egg freezing is also uncertain.
Significance of Roe v. Wade
The Roe v. Wade case is one of the most famous cases of the U.S. Supreme Court, where they made a landmark decision that protected the rights and liberty of pregnant women to have an abortion.
However, on June 24th, 2022, after nearly 50 years, the Supreme Court overruled the Roe v. Wade case, taking away a pregnant woman’s constitutional right to abortion. The courts have given states the authority to make abortion laws, with the freedom to restrict and ban the procedure altogether. Now ongoing debates about the legality of abortion and the role of religion in politics have been an issue ever since.
Consequences for IVF and Egg Freezing
Women across the U.S. use fertility treatments to conceive, and now that can change. IVF involves stimulating, extracting, and fertilizing a maximum number of eggs to create as many healthy embryos as possible, and only 60% of fertilized eggs become an embryo. Overruling Roe v. Wade could make it illegal to discard the embryos if the law identifies an embryo as a person (a routine procedure when there are signs of genetic abnormality). There could be restrictions to egg fertilization to reduce the number of embryos being discarded.
Embryo freezing, which is more effective than egg freezing, may also be affected. Doctors use this procedure to evaluate reproductive potential, and the embryos perform better than frozen eggs once thawed.
While the decision by the Supreme Court does not explicitly mention contraception and birth control, the overturn of Roe v. Wade could create policies limiting access to birth control. Pharmacists in various states already have the right to refuse contraception if it disagrees with their religious beliefs.
Uncertainty for Infertility Patients
The overturn of Roe v. Wade will bring dramatic changes to reproductive healthcare and affect women’s authority over their bodies and personal decisions. Personhood Bills could be next to follow with the belief that life begins at fertilization, which will influence treatments for infertility, genetic diseases, and recurring miscarriages.
If you plan to conceive, be aware of the laws for birth control. Currently, pharmacists in six states can refuse to dispense contraception, including Plan B, if it violates their religious beliefs.
We don’t know how the future of legislation can impact us, so the safest thing to do is be prepared.
