correction
A previous version of this article incorrectly said the CDC reports about 4 million births via IVF per year in the United States. The agency reported 91,906 births via IVF in 2021. The article has been corrected.
Frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are people, Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled last week, opening up a new front in the national debate over reproductive rights.
The ruling, which declared that clinics can be held liable for discarding frozen embryos, has sparked fears that IVF services in the state could be restricted or even ended. On Wednesday, at least two of the state’s IVF clinics, Alabama Fertility and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, announced they were pausing parts of their IVF treatment and canceled appointments with patients. The University of Alabama at Birmingham said it was evaluating the court’s decision.