This is an opinion column

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Today’s guest columnist is AshLeigh Dunham.

“This never happens.”

For the second time, we did not get any embryos.

Again, we were shuffled out of the back of the clinic for our own privacy.

It felt like we were being hidden so the other couples awaiting their results would not be exposed to our grief.

I got on the elevator feeling ashamed. Heartbroken. Broken.

Travel to Oregon

Two weeks later, our doctor explained that he did not have the resources nor the lab that could accommodate what we needed. On his advice, we interviewed clinics across the country.

On Thanksgiving Day of 2020, amidst a global pandemic, and after five years of trying to have a child, we boarded a plane to Oregon.

Away from our family, we spent the next ten days during the holiday season going in for monitoring appointments and working out of our hotel room awaiting our egg retrieval. I had nine eggs. Five fertilized. On day five, I got the call that we had four day-five embryos.

Two weeks later we found out that three of our embryos tested genetically compatible with life. At the end of January, we once again flew back to Oregon for our transfer.

Ten days later we found out that after one surgery, six inseminations, and three rounds of IVF, we were finally pregnant.

Alabama Supreme Court halts IVF

When the decision from the Alabama Supreme Court halted IVF, my daughter was two. I had been out of the infertility trenches for a while. However, it immediately impacted me when Chief Justice Parker called IVF the “wild wild west” and to see the blatant attack on the medical treatment that allowed me to be a mother. I felt like I was the same woman being shuffled out of the back of the clinic.

How could something so beautiful and so scientifically regulated by so many medical organizations be politicized like this? How could all these hopeful people who had to stop their treatment mid-cycle afford to keep trying?

I had watched this case as it made its way to the Alabama Supreme Court, so the ruling did not shock me. In the infertility community embryos are often referred to as “embabies” so I could see where these couples were coming from. I could see why it would be more upsetting than losing property. This was a chance to start a family.

At the same time, as a mother, I was confused as to how the court could equate an embryo with my child. I cannot kiss my embryos goodnight. Those embryos are no guarantee.

The entirety of IVF in danger

Moreover, as a lawyer, I knew that treating an embryo to the same standard as a child was a dangerous slope. If the court agreed with them, the entirety of IVF would be in danger.

If an embryo had the same rights as a child, IVF would become astronomically more expensive, less effective, and access would be denied to most who need it.

If it was regulated by people who were not doctors, but rather politicians with backgrounds in BBQ restaurants and car sales, we would soon watch our state lose all the advancements we have now.

We would be going backwards, and we are already the third worst state for maternal mortality. This will have a trickle-down impact on the women of our state as our experts are already leaving, including our OBGYNs.

I went to the state house door to door with my infertile sisters and spoke to my legislators about my fertility journey. I urged them to speak up for their constituents. Not everyone can leave their job, their family, and their state to get adequate healthcare.

During the healthcare committee meeting, those same senators who nodded and spoke to me so nicely, said nothing.

IVF at risk of stopping altogether

A few days later, HB237 quickly passed and allowed IVF to restart. In the bill, it provided civil and criminal immunity for patients, doctors, and providers of goods and services of IVF.

Now, as the law stands, fertility patients have no recourse in our state if negligence occurs.

Moreover, following the decision, the Plaintiffs immediately filed a motion to declare the law unconstitutional. IVF was at risk of stopping altogether once again until the parties settled in January 2025.

This is not the last time it will be at risk. Until we have full and permanent protection, IVF is at risk.

As I am writing now, some of our few fertility clinics have closed or shipped embryos out of state.

Legislators are tossing around ideas similar to what was held unconstitutional in Italy in 2014 such as limiting embryo creation and stopping genetic testing relegating women to possible recurrent miscarriages.

Our legislators are acting as doctors, causing our doctors to act like lawyers.

Birmingham stands as beacon of hope and access

In Birmingham, where world-class medical care has long been a keystone of the community, the fallout from the ruling has been felt deeply.

While doctors across the country are weighing whether to leave states with unclear or hostile legal landscapes, Birmingham’s fertility clinics have remained resilient.

Despite the uncertainty, high demand, and loss of fertility doctors, Birmingham Clinics are continuing to serve patients who have nowhere else to turn, even opening satellite offices in other areas of the state.

The city’s medical professionals are doing everything they can to hold the line, not just for Birmingham families, but for people across the state now traveling here for care. In the face of political chaos, Birmingham is standing as a beacon of hope and access.

It breaks my heart that in Alabama, the dream of starting a family is being taken from so many of us. Infertile couples deserve compassion, support, and access to fertility treatments, not barriers that make an already difficult journey even harder.

It is time to put Alabama families first and political agendas last.

AshLeigh Dunham is a distinguished legal professional, currently serving as a Jefferson County Referee for the Juvenile Court while also practicing as a Fertility Attorney at Magic City Fertility Law. With a deep commitment to justice and advocacy, AshLeigh is known for her compassionate approach to complex legal matters and her dedication to improving the lives of families and children within her community.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. [email protected]