Remember The Girls Stands in Support of Equitable Access to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in Alabama and Beyond

Remember The Girls aims to break the stigma facing females impacted by X-linked conditions by providing them with tools to seek support, engage with research, and access family planning options, as well as by advocating for increased attention of medical professionals to the physical, emotional, and reproductive needs of this community.

Last Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are covered under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. This ruling could potentially subject people undergoing IVF services in Alabama and the doctors who perform those services to criminal charges.This decision has massive implications for individuals, including X-linked carriers, who are seeking to undergo IVF and/or freeze embryos in the state.

IVF helps grow families for people facing infertility, LGBTQ+ couples, and individuals who are at risk of passing seriously disabling or life-threatening genetic diseases to their children. Many females who carry an X-linked mutation pursue IVF with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGT) to identify embryos without their specific mutation. In this process, several eggs are extracted and fertilized to allow for embryos to develop and be genetically tested. In the case of X-linked carriers, each of their embryos has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the mutation. But think of it like this – if you flip a coin 100 times, it could land on heads 0 times, 50 times, 100 times, or anything in between.

It’s essential for multiple embryos to be created to allow the best chance of an unaffected pregnancy. Although the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision does not outlaw IVF, it essentially severely limits or removes access to IVF for people in the state. Already the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Alabama Fertility Specialists have paused IVF services in the wake of this decision.

Remember The Girls stands for equitable access to IVF in Alabama and beyond. We believe people have a right to access safe and effective reproductive technologies which will allow them to grow their families. And lastly, we support X-linked carriers in the state of Alabama who are facing continued attacks on their reproductive autonomy and are now left with even fewer options to ensure they have a child unaffected by the genetic disease they carry.

Last Updated: February 22, 2024 4:00 PM EST