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Louisiana fertility clinics concerned by Alabama ruling on frozen embryos

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Louisiana fertility clinics concerned by Alabama ruling on frozen embryos


NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment clinics are concerned by the implications of a new Alabama Supreme Court ruling that said frozen embryos are children.

Medical experts in Louisiana fear a similar ruling could happen here.

Reproductive endocrinologist and fertility expert Dr. Nicole Ulrich of Audubon Fertility said she’s disappointed by the Alabama decision.

“A feeling of dismay. Shock and dismay, honestly. It’s very upsetting,” Ulrich said.

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She said a law that bestows personhood to embryos can pose significant challenges to IVF and fertility treatments.

“It can be difficult if an embryo is considered a person in that context, because we know as a part of IVF not every embryo is going to result in a pregnancy,” Ulrich said. “We’re trying to get as many eggs to create as many embryos to have as many chances as we can.”

Ulrich said that if 10 mature eggs are fertilized, about 80 percent generally fertilize normally. Of those, about half will grow out to the stage of embryo development that would allow for an attempt at pregnancy.

“We are the sort of caretakers of the eggs and embryos as they’re growing and moving towards the point where they could potentially create a pregnancy,” she said. “And if something happens during that process that would naturally occur as part of IVF, you could be held liable (under the Alabama definition).”

That means providers in Alabama could potentially be found liable in a wrongful death lawsuit for mistakenly destroying frozen embryos, which are afforded the same protection as babies under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

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Fox 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti said, “Every state is its own separate entity. So how (the Alabama ruling) directly impacts a state? Maybe not much. But there are going to be a lot more indirect implications to Louisiana and maybe countrywide by this ruling in Alabama.”

Ulrich said, “Alabama is saying it’s a child. It’s a person. Here, (embryos) are juridical people, but we still have the same restriction where we can’t discard embryos that are considered ‘viable’ by the law, although that definition is very broad.”

Ulrich said the options are storing embryos indefinitely, paying for storage every year, donating to another couple or moving them to a different state and discarding of them there, which is often what patients in Louisiana do.

Raspanti said there’s a lot to consider.

“If they implant one or two and the person gets pregnant, what do they do with those other embryos? Can the parents say to destroy them? I don’t know about that. Can they waive certain rights of that embryo? I don’t know about that. These are the dominos that may be falling down the line, based upon this type of ruling,” Raspanti said.

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Ulrich said if something similar were to be handed down in Louisiana, it would make her practice far too expensive and recruitment within her profession here very challenging.

“The risk is then so high, IVF is not something that I think many physicians and embryologists potentially even try to practice, because it would be so risky,” Ulrich said.

She said that between 1-in-6 and 1-in-8 couples experience infertility, and that most recent data shows 1 percent of babies born in Louisiana were conceived by IVF, compared to 2 percent nationally.

Ulrich said patients could attempt IVF by fertilizing one egg at a time. However, she said each attempt would take a physical, emotional and financial toll on hopeful parents.

“Without coverage, paying out of pocket, if the cost goes up in response to a law like this or a ruling like this, it’s going to cut a lot of people out of the group that could potentially utilize this treatment and make a lot of couples or individuals end up where they can’t conceive at all and they can’t build their families,” Ulrich said.

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans responded to Fox 8′s request for comment by issuing a statement that said, “All children, regardless of the circumstances of their conception and birth, are gifts from God who should be loved, cherished and cared for. Infertility is a challenging and sensitive issue for couples. The Catholic Church wants to walk with couples facing infertility and seeks to provide morally acceptable resources for couples seeking to become parents.

“The destruction of human embryos has always been of concern and one reason the Catholic Church opposes IVF. The Catholic Church believes that human life begins at conception and extends to natural death. Let us pray that our society may grow in respect for the dignity of all life and work to support and promote morally acceptable ways to help couples facing infertility achieve their dream of parenthood.”

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Alabama

UNC, Bill Belichick land ex-Alabama offensive tackle

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UNC, Bill Belichick land ex-Alabama offensive tackle


Not many will get to say they played for Nick Saban and Bill Belichick in college.

In fact, Miles McVay might end up being the only one.

McVay, the second-year offensive tackle, will transfer to UNC after spending two seasons with the Crimson Tide, McVay told On3.

McVay is a former four-star offensive tackle in the 2023 recruiting class from East St. Louis, Illinois. He is listed at 6-6, 342 pounds.

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McVay saw time in four games as a freshman in 2023, in which he ultimately redshirted. Then in his second season for Alabama, McVay played in all 12 games, primarily on special teams. But he also received some offensive snaps against Western Kentucky, Wisconsin, Missouri, LSU and Mercer.

The transfer portal opened Dec. 9 and will remain open for about another week for all of college football.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.





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Former Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap collects prestigious PGA Tour honor

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Former Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap collects prestigious PGA Tour honor


There are hot starts to a PGA Tour career, then there’s what former Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap did this season en route to being named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

Dunlap, who turned pro after winning The American Express in January, won the prestigious honor in golf on Thursday.

“On behalf of the PGA Tour, congratulations to Nick Dunlap on being named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Nick carved out his place in the PGA Tour record book. To begin 2024 as a collegiate golfer and end it with two PGA Tour victories and among the top-50 players in the FedExCup is truly impressive.”

Not only did Nick Dunlap win twice on tour, he did so in historic fashion. He became the first player in PGA Tour history to win as both an amateur and a professional in the same season.

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At 20 years old, he also became the youngest player to be named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year since Jordan Spieth earned the honor back in 2013.

Nick Dunlap won the award thanks to a member vote, with PGA Tour members who played at least 15 events during the 2024 campaign eligible to vote.

Dunlap received 57 percent of the vote, according to the PGA Tour.

Of course, Nick Dunlap’s year began as an amateur college golfer at Alabama. But he played in and won The American Express, then shortly after announced his move to turn pro.

He would later go on to win the Barracuda Championship in July.

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Because he played so well, Nick Dunlap finished in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings, qualifying him for the PGA Tour’s signature events in 2025.

Dunlap ended his amateur career as the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He won the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2023 U.S. Amateur, joining Tiger Woods as the only players to win each title.



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‘We played awful’: Alabama basketball reacts to close win over North Dakota

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‘We played awful’: Alabama basketball reacts to close win over North Dakota


Don’t worry. Alabama men’s basketball knows it didn’t play well.

Alabama forward Grant Nelson, in his return to his home state, didn’t mince words talking about the Crimson Tide’s 97-90 victory over North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota on Wednesday that came down to the final minute.

“We played awful, pretty much the whole game,” said Nelson, a former North Dakota State player. “We came in, we didn’t take these guys seriously. I was telling them, this is a big game on their home court. We’ve got to take these guys serious. They’re playing for a lot.”

It showed. The Fighting Hawks (4-9) battled from start to finish, holding a lead at halftime and even tying the game with two minutes left. Alabama’s 13 first-half turnovers proved problematic early. Then the Crimson Tide (9-2) fixed its turnover problem but stopped playing good defense.

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“We got yelled at like we should have,” said Nelson, a Devils Lake, North Dakota native. “I’m sure we’ll continue to get yelled at the rest of this week. But like I said, they played really great. It’s a great team and I think they’ll win a lot of games.”

Alabama coach Nate Oats was particularly frustrated by his defense. North Dakota scored 52 points in the second half, averaging 1.486 points per possession.

“I give North Dakota credit; they wanted this game,” Oats said. “They were ready for it. Great environment. Crowd was great. And our guys didn’t really come out ready to play. Our matchup on (Treysen) Eaglestaff wasn’t great to start. I don’t know that we really ever found the matchup.”

Eaglestaff scored 40 points, making him the first mid-major player to do so against a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll since 2012, per ESPN. The Bismarck, North Dakota native kept the Fighting Hawks in it until the end as he hit 15 of 30 and 8 of 18 from deep. Nelson, meanwhile, scored 23 points to go with 10 rebounds.

“Can’t sleep on those North Dakota boys,” Nelson said. “They can really hoop. I’ve known him for a while. I played him when he was here and I was at North Dakota State. I knew he was a great player. Our scouting report was pretty much around him.”

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Which made it all the more frustrating that Eaglestaff did what he did.

“I feel like we let ourselves down,” Nelson said. “We’ve got a lot to learn. We’re going to watch video and see what we can do better.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.





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