Alabama
Embryo loss is integral to IVF. Alabama’s ruling equating embryos with children jeopardizes its practice
An embryo is one of the earliest stages of development of a multicellular organism. But according to the Supreme Court of Alabama, it is a person, too — an unborn child, entitled to the same legal protections as any minor.
The court ruled on Feb. 16 that a fertility clinic patient who accidentally destroyed other patients’ frozen embryos could be liable in a wrongful death lawsuit, writing in its opinion that “the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location,” and that this includes “unborn children who are located outside of a biological uterus at the time they are killed.”
This has had immediate and profound consequences on the practice in vitro fertilization in the state, with many fertility clinics already deciding to interrupt their services for fear of legal repercussions, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which has paused its IVF treatments, as has Alabama Fertility Services.
But the implications may reach beyond Alabama’s border: 11 other states have fetal personhood laws, and in at least four of them — Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina — such laws have already been used to prosecute pregnant women for child endangerment and neglect. Like Alabama, these states could interpret their wrongful death laws as applying to embryos, putting IVF clinics in legally vulnerable situations.
“I’m sure there are a lot of lawyers across the country that are assessing the risk profile for their IVF provider clients, and with good reasons,” said Giudith Daar, a specialist in reproductive health law and dean at Chase City College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. “In the route to parenthood through assisted conception, embryo loss is a big part of that journey — it is a byproduct of IVF. So if the embryo loss is now associated with civil or criminal penalties, it’s understandable that providers would not want to move forward.”
In many ways, IVF is a game of numbers. Only about a quarter of fertilized eggs result in an embryo, and the chances an implanted embryo progresses into a viable pregnancy can be as low as 10% depending on a woman’s age. The more the fertilized eggs, the more embryos, and the greater the chance of a pregnancy. While embryos can be transferred without freezing, cryopreservation helps avoid transferring multiple embryos at once and allows for delayed transfer when, for instance, someone is undergoing medical treatments such as chemotherapy.
This means frozen embryos, as well as embryos that end up being lost because they aren’t implanted, are necessary parts of IVF. But based on the Alabama ruling, handling them could expose IVF clinic staff to criminal or civil charges. The decision doesn’t lay out scenarios in which someone may be prosecuted, but practitioners worry that any potential damage from the routine handling of frozen embryos could result in legal issues. And the ruling also raises risks for institutions that use embryos for stem cell research.
Estimates on how many frozen embryos exist in the U.S. vary significantly. According to the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology, 400,000 embryos have been frozen since the 1970s. The Health and Human Services department estimates 600,000, while the National Embryo Donation Centers puts the figure close to 1 million.
“If the policy outcomes mandated under this decision stand, the consequences will be profound. Modern fertility care will be unavailable to the people of Alabama […]. Young physicians will choose not to come to the state for training or to begin their practice. Existing clinics will be forced to choose between providing sub-optimal patient care or shutting their doors,” wrote Paula Amato, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, in a statement.
This is the first time any federal or state U.S. court has adopted such a broad definition of personhood, though it’s not the first time such a definition threatened IVF practice. In May 2022, the Louisiana House of Representatives proposed a bill that would have considered an embryo a person, though it didn’t move forward after substantial opposition from IVF doctors and practices.
“This is the logical end to the legal personhood movement, which we knew was going to be the next frontier after Roe versus Wade was overruled,” said Seema Mohapatra, a professor of Health Law at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law.
Some anti-abortion groups, however, celebrated the decision.
“The IVF industry is poorly regulated and too rarely monitored, with numerous media stories illustrating problems. Even this case began with an allegedly sloppy operation that somehow allowed a client access to a sensitive storage area where embryos were accidentally destroyed, according to media reports,” said Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy at Students for Life, an anti-abortion organization, in an email to STAT.
“We don’t focus on IVF policy per se, but we believe that a conversation on this topic is overdue given the life and death stakes,” she added, characterizing the IVF industry as one that “turns surrogates and children into commodities, and that has as a central premise, the goal of creating disposable children.”
Experts noted that several couples moved their embryos to states with pro-choice legislatures in the wake of the Dobbs decision, driven by fear of the impact of abortion bans and personhood laws. And, just as with abortion bans, it may be the fear of legal consequences rather than actual prosecution that stops practices from offering fertility treatment.
“Medical providers tend, on the whole, to be fairly conservative in terms of financial and legal risks,” said Jessie Hill, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University. “Uncertainty in and of itself is a legal risk — you don’t need to wait around for a court to rule against you.”
For people looking to expand their families through IVF who live in states that either have or could adopt personhood definitions akin to Alabama’s, the impact of this decision could be devastating. The added uncertainty could lead providers who decide to remain in business to invest heavily in insurance protection, said Northern Kentucky University’s Daar, a cost that is likely to be passed down onto the patients, making IVF less affordable. Transporting embryos to states that don’t have fetal personhood laws would be an additional cost.
One way to limit IVF costs is to maximize the chances of success by creating as many embryos as possible from each egg retrieval. This typically means freezing embryos and running genetic testing that selects the most viable ones to limit the number of cycles. But taking this approach might now be legally risky, says Southern Methodist University’s Mohapatra. There are also situation in which it is nearly impossible to create and transfer one embryo at a time, which means treating the loss of an embryo as a wrongful death would all but eliminate the possibility to conceive for some people.
“It’s unfortunate because when we think about reproductive justice, it’s not just the idea that you should have a right not to have a child, but also the right to have a child,” she said.
Experts note that the Alabama decision eliminates a longstanding contradiction in the arguments of anti-abortion groups in favor of the principle of personhood, irrespective of how unpopular that principle may be among voters or businesses.
“Anti-abortion groups often seem to be OK with IVF… even though they know that that process almost inevitably results in destruction of embryos,” said Hill. “[Pro-choice groups] have always been able to point to this tension and say, ‘You don’t really think it’s a person from conception because you’re OK with IVF.’”
But one way in which the battle for IVF may differ from that for abortion rights is financial. The IVF market is estimated at around $5 billion and growing at 7% yearly, according to market insight firm Allied Market Research.
“This is big business,” said Mohapatra. “And I think that, in some ways, having those business interests speak up and lobby might drive some public opinion, but also judicial and legislative opinion.”
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – You don’t find too many camps where you learn how to slap someone. But this summer, you will in Montgomery. It’s one of many kids camps put on by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
“We have our Camp Shakespeare Junior which is our half day for the littles, kindergarten through 3rd grade,” said Cameron Williams, the ASF director of education. “We have Big Kid Shakespeare camp and everyone is learning all about ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.”
They learn about on stage combat, different acting techniques, and also how to be creative and think on their feet.
“I think theater skills are life skills. So, what makes this camp special is we’re doing more than just boosting literacy and doing theater things. We’re doing life skills, learning what it means to be team players, about discipline, and working with people who may have different personalities than you.”
Different kids have different talents. And even if your child isn’t up for a lead role in the next play, this place can leave a lasting impact.
“If you’re looking for a place where your kid can come out of their shell, to learn how to speak in front of a group, and develop some confidence, this is the place to be.”
It’s a place that’s a real treasure in Montgomery, and its mining some young gems, who one day, could be on the big stage themselves. There are still more ASF camps going on this summer for pre-teens and even adults.
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Huntsville-based defense contractor LOGZONE Inc. has agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve allegations that it failed to comply with cybersecurity requirements in contracts with the U.S. Department of the Navy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settlement resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act alleging that LOGZONE knowingly submitted claims for payment while not meeting certain cybersecurity standards required under two Navy contracts.
Federal officials alleged that between May 2021 and March 2025, LOGZONE did not implement specific cybersecurity controls outlined in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-171. The standards are designed to protect sensitive defense information handled by government contractors.
According to the Justice Department, the deficiencies were identified during an assessment conducted by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The evaluation resulted in LOGZONE receiving a score of -170 on a scale ranging from -203 to 110, indicating significant gaps in compliance with required security controls.
The government alleged that the missing cybersecurity measures could have increased the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information or the exploitation of company systems.
The settlement does not include a determination of liability. As part of the agreement, LOGZONE will pay $507,144 to resolve the allegations.
Federal officials said the enforcement action reflects ongoing efforts to ensure government contractors comply with cybersecurity obligations tied to federal contracts, particularly those involving sensitive defense information.
The investigation and settlement involved the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the Department of the Navy, the Defense Contract Management Agency, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
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Additional details regarding corrective actions taken by the company were not immediately available.
Alabama
Alabama’s Self-Proclaimed ‘AI Watchman’ Unseats Incumbent Public Service Commissioner – Inside Climate News
MOBILE, Ala.—Jim Zeigler didn’t have much time to celebrate.
The morning after his Republican primary victory on Tuesday and a gathering of supporters at Wintzell’s Oyster House, the 78-year-old hit the road early to drive the nearly four hours to his hometown of Sylacauga, southwest of Birmingham, to attend a funeral.
But even this early, Zeigler already had his mind on November.
“It’s going to be a tough, tough race,” Zeigler said.
He may be right.
Like Republicans across the South, Zeigler pointed to recent public service commission elections in Georgia—two Republican to Democratic flips—as a seeming electoral mandate from voters: Lower energy bills and curb data centers, or face citizens’ wrath at the ballot box.
But, Zeigler said, he believes Democrats’ success in Georgia also came because of an influx of campaign cash from out-of-state donors—a challenge he said he anticipates Alabama Republicans in utility regulation races will face in November as well.
“It’s not only a possibility that kind of campaign will be attempted in Alabama,” Zeigler said. “It sneaked up on the Republicans of Georgia. It won’t sneak up on me.”
The election of a Democrat to one of Alabama’s at-large PSC seats would be a major electoral shakeup. The last Democrat to serve on the body was elected in 2008.
Zeigler said his aim in the campaign—both in the primary and general—is to channel voters’ frustrations about data centers and solar farms.
It was those issues, according to Zeigler, that put him past the finish line in the race against his Republican opponent, Chris Beeker, an incumbent with a 5 to 1 campaign finance advantage.
Beeker, who was appointed to serve the remainder of his father’s term, ran a much less vocal campaign, a stark contrast to Zeigler’s.
During his campaign, Zeigler has promised he will serve as an “AI watchman in Alabama,” shielding residents from the economic and environmental burdens of the data centers that power AI technology.
He said he will soon begin rolling out a detailed plan about how he’ll conduct that oversight. One of the first things that should be made public, Zeigler said, is a list of all data centers in Alabama currently operating, proposed or under construction.
“Right now there is no such a list available to the public,” Zeigler said.
Both Alabama Power and the Alabama Public Service Commission have declined requests by Inside Climate News for such a list.
Still, despite Zeigler’s pledges, the ability of he or any other public service commissioner to regulate industry effectively will soon be more limited than ever before. Earlier this year, the Alabama Legislature passed a law expanding the commission from three to seven seats and consolidating regulatory power in a newly-created secretary of energy.
Experts said the legislation stood to benefit Alabama Power, the state’s largest utility, by making the initiation of rate cases scrutinizing energy prices more difficult.
Zeigler seemed reticent to criticize the new law on Wednesday.
“The fact is it’s law,” he said. “It’s something that I’m just going to have to live with. Move on.”
This won’t be Zeigler’s first time serving on the body. A perennial candidate, he served on the Public Service Commission for a single term from 1975 to 1979. Half a century later, after running for various offices and serving as Alabama’s state auditor from 2015 to 2023, Zeigler said he recognizes that if he wins in November, he’ll be serving in a state much different than it was all that time ago. In 1979, Zeigler said, no one had heard of a data center, much less had one proposed to be built in their back yard. Times have changed. Now, Zeigler himself is figuring out how to deal with ever-evolving technology.
Zeigler said while his campaign hasn’t generated AI images for publication, it may have shared some created by supporters. Both Zeigler’s website and social media pages feature AI-generated images, one portraying Zeigler in a heroic stance, “THE WATCHMAN” emblazoned across the bottom.
In it, Zeigler holds a bottle labeled “sunlight, integrity, common sense and sweet tea.” Zeigler, in a houndstooth blazer, a cape and a “people over profits” belt buckle, appears above a monster truck painted in the University of Alabama’s crimson and white. “Zeigler,” the side of the truck says. “Watching out for Alabama!”
Ultimately, Zeigler said it doesn’t matter if his campaign or supporters use AI-generated images in his run for office.
“I guess eventually I’m going to have to learn how to use AI,” he said. “But the idea that you can’t be a watchman over data centers and try to oversee them if you use any AI yourself is a juvenile analysis.”
Zeigler will face Democrat Sheila McNeil in the November election.
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Lee Hedgepeth
Reporter, Alabama
Lee Hedgepeth is Inside Climate News’ Alabama reporter. Raised in Grand Bay, Alabama, a small town on the Gulf Coast, Lee holds master’s degrees in community journalism and political development from the University of Alabama and Tulane University. Lee is the founder of Tread, a newsletter of Southern journalism, and has also worked for news outlets across Alabama, including CBS 42, Alabama Political Reporter and the Anniston Star. His reporting has focused on issues impacting members of marginalized groups, including homelessness, poverty, and the death penalty. His award-winning journalism has appeared in publications across the country and has been cited by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among others.
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