Unlike for individuals or entities providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization (IVF), the Alabama IVF Act does not grant immunity to manufacturers, but it limits damages for their violations to the cost of an IVF cycle.
The Alabama Ruling
On February 16, 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a first-of-a-kind decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C. This case was consolidated with other cases brought by couples whose frozen embryos were stored at a fertility clinic in Mobile, Alabama, and were destroyed when a patient removed several embryos and inadvertently dropped them on the floor.
The Court held that frozen embryos used for in vitro fertilization (IVF) are “children” within the meaning of the Alabama Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, and civil liability can attach for such destroyed embryos. The Act authorizes punitive damages where, “the death of a minor child is caused by the wrongful act, omission, or negligence of any person.”
Published by Pharmaceutical Executive on May 16, 2024, available here.
