I think you’re going to find that other states may be influenced to try to mimic the Alabama court decision, but if they do so, it’s going to mean ultimately the end — regardless of what Alabama legislature tried to do — of IVF.
That has a political consequence that I don’t think can be sustained by proponents of fetal personhood or embryo personhood. There is just too much momentum to support the use of IVF to try to create life to make that a politically viable situation.
Alabama may have its court ruling, but I think it’s going to have to pass legislation that overrules the view that embryos are children, not just trying to exempt IVF from the consequences of that view, if we’re going to see IVF possible in that state or anywhere else in the United States.
Dr. Caplan, director, division of medical ethics, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, has served as a director, officer, partner, employee, adviser, consultant, or trustee for Johnson & Johnson’s Panel for Compassionate Drug Use (unpaid position). He is a contributing author and adviser for Medscape.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.