MONTGOMERY — Caroleene Dobson told supporters on Friday she was committed to raising awareness in the final days of the general election about in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments.
Dobson said at the Born Children's Boutique event in Montgomery on Friday she was committed to ensuring access to IVF.
"I think what we need more of in this state is just awareness and this is obviously a very private journey and it's a very personal journey, fertility treatment is but at the same time it's time for all families but sometimes that's led by the women in the families to step up and let folks know just how important it is to ensure access to these treatments, to expand access to these treatments (and) to expand awareness of fertility treatments and to ensure that we never again have any limitation of services or uncertainty when it comes to health outcomes," Dobson said. "I'm firmly committed again to passing legislation that ensures access and in the next two weeks I'm also firmly committed to ensuring that we make as many folks aware about IVF and the miracle that it is as I possibly can."
Dobson, a Republican, is running for the Second Congressional District nomination against Shomari Figures, a Democrat, in the November 5 general election.
In a case originating from Mobile, LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, Inc., the Alabama Supreme Court held in a 7-2 decision in February that parents of frozen embryos killed at an IVF clinic when an intruder tampered with an IVF freezer may proceed with a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic for alleged negligence.
The Alabama Legislature quickly passed legislation in response to the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling after clinics offering IVF paused treatments due to the ruling. Governor Kay Ivey signed the bill into law on March 6 after sailing through the House and Senate in under two weeks under a national microscope from the media.
The new law provides civil and criminal immunity to IVF clinics for death or damage to embryos. The law states it doesn't apply retroactively to ongoing litigation on the date the bill was signed into law.
Anne Tyler Crider, a Montgomery resident undergoing IVF treatment, said, "The thought of not having IVF as an opportunity, I just can't imagine not having that."
"I was a month out from treatment of my last transfer and to imagine all those families that were about to have retrievals or were waiting to have a transfer, this was thousands and thousands of dollars that could've just gone down the drain not to mention the emotional side of it. I was just feeling for those families that had to press pause. I can't imagine what they were going through. A lot of people don't know because like you said it's such a private journey that lots of people don't want to share but now it's on the national stage," Crider said.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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