For seven years, Jacqueline Brock endured grueling fertility treatments 鈥� and all of the emotion that came with it.
鈥淚 had to stop going to outings with our friends because they鈥檇 bring their kids or talk about their kids, and I would just cry,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn't go to a lot of baby showers and things because I couldn't physically handle it.鈥�
Last year, Brock, who lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, James, underwent a third round of in vitro fertilization, or IVF. It produced two embryos. She had one implanted. This time it worked, resulting in one of the best moments of her life.
鈥淚 got a call from our fertility clinic, and all of the nurses and our doctors, they're on the phone. And they all yelled out we were pregnant,鈥� she said.
Brock鈥檚 daughter, Eloise, was born in January.
But her joy quickly turned to frustration when a month later, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through IVF should be considered children.
Brock felt for the women who paused their IVF cycles during the initial confusion in the wake of the ruling, but it also made her concerned about the couple鈥檚 remaining embryo. They want a second child.
At the time, several Midwestern states, including Iowa, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri, were considering bills that could impact families seeking IVF. The bills would give some rights to embryos and fetuses that are generally ascribed to a person.
鈥淚 remember I just started crying, and I was so angry,鈥� she said.
Doctors told Brock she likely can鈥檛 use the remaining embryo to carry another pregnancy herself for medical reasons. So, she and her husband are considering other options, like surrogacy. But the precarious legal landscape worries them a lot.
鈥淲e were talking about, 鈥楧o we need to get a lawyer to figure out what to do with our embryo, or do we need to move our embryo to another state so that it's safe?鈥欌�� Brock said.
鈥業 just never really, truly believed that that would happen鈥�
During the legislative session in 13 states, lawmakers introduced bills that could give rights to embryos and fetuses that generally protect a person, by the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit that supports abortion rights.
The Iowa House that would increase criminal penalties for causing someone to lose a pregnancy without their consent and would change the term 鈥渢erminates a human pregnancy鈥� to 鈥渃auses the death of an unborn child.鈥�
Kansas looked at a that would provide child support for 鈥渦nborn children鈥� from the date of conception. In Missouri, where abortion is mostly banned, the statehouse saw a that said 鈥渦nborn children鈥re entitled to the same rights, powers, privileges, justice, and protections鈥� as any other person in the state. There was also a that established standards on how courts determine custody of an embryo.
Indiana lawmakers that would allow pregnant people to claim their fetuses as dependents on their state taxes.
A bill in Ohio the constitutional rights of 鈥渁ll unborn human individuals from the moment of conception.鈥�
None of the bills , but they鈥檙e expected to come up in the future.
Anti-abortion groups in Nebraska are currently that would ban abortions after the first trimester and define 鈥渁 preborn person at every stage of development鈥� as a person.
At the same time, there is a shifting patchwork of state abortion bans in place that further complicate and cause confusion about reproductive choices. In Iowa, a decision from the state Supreme Court regarding whether or not the 2023 should go into effect is expected in June. The Missouri secretary of state has an initiative petition with over 380,000 signatures on his desk from Missourians hoping to put the abortion question to a vote.
Policy experts say they expect anti-abortion lawmakers to continue gunning for reproductive rights bringing up similar bills in next year鈥檚 legislative sessions.
鈥淭he greater push has been to really seek to restrict a lot of different types of sexual and reproductive health care,鈥� said Kimya Forouzan, the principal state policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute. 鈥淎nd one of the ways to do that is by establishing personhood in the law.鈥�
These initiatives, along with the Alabama Supreme Court decision and the disruption it caused the state鈥檚 IVF clinics, are concerning to medical professionals.
鈥淚 just never really, truly believed that that would happen,鈥� Abby Mancuso, an infertility specialist in Des Moines, Iowa, said.
It鈥檚 common practice during IVF to in case of abnormalities or other issues, but embryos can easily be damaged, as central to the Alabama decision, she said.
When embryos are legally considered children, that could have a detrimental impact on doctors, Mancuso said.
鈥淚f you're an embryologist or an institution, and you could be held for any damage that occurred to these microscopic cells, that's obviously a concern,鈥� she said.
There鈥檚 also the civil liability concern, which puts facilities at risk of being sued for a lot of money and damages.
All of this means that debates over abortion and IVF protections a significant role in the upcoming election.
鈥業t's hard to really write in exceptions鈥�
Proponents of bills that define life as beginning at conception say they want to ensure they are written so they protect IVF and fertility treatments.
Following the Alabama Supreme Court decision, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law shielding IVF patients and providers from legal liability.
When Iowa Democrats brought up concerns about how a bill that would change 鈥渉uman pregnancy鈥� to 鈥渦nborn person鈥� could affect IVF in the state during a House debate in March, Republican Rep. Skyler Wheeler, who sponsored the bill, dismissed them as irrelevant and alarmist.
鈥淪ometimes you hear things and you see things, and you just can't wrap your head around the madness,鈥� he said.
Critics disagree with this sentiment.
鈥淚t's hard to really write in exceptions that are truly going to protect families and IVF and other fertility treatments, while still keeping the position that an embryo is a person,鈥� Sarah Wilson, an attorney who specializes in fertility and adoption practices, said.
In the meantime, Wilson said it鈥檚 added more stress for her clients who are already going through a difficult and complicated process.
鈥淚nstead of the hope and excitement that I usually hear from them, they come to me with concern and they're scared,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淭hey are not sure if their legal parentage will be protected, and if they'll have decisions over their own medical care.鈥�
Some of Wilson鈥檚 clients are nervous about what the future might hold for states like Iowa and are talking about pursuing fertility treatment out of state.
Jacqueline Brock and her husband are considering contacting an attorney like Wilson to figure out their options for their remaining embryo. This includes moving it to a neighboring state, so it doesn鈥檛 get caught up in any legal gray areas in the future.
鈥淚t's really scary to think that we have this embryo, and if we do decide to discard it, we could potentially get criminally charged for doing that,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd there aren't a lot of options for us with the embryo.鈥�
This story comes from a collaboration between and the 鈥� an investigative journalism collaboration including , , , and .
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