Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl spoke out about the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling on frozen embryos on Thursday.
Pearl responded to a post on X, which showed Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., saying on CNN that the Republican Party “cannot be the party against family formation.”
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Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl during their game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena on Jan. 9, 2024 in Auburn, Alabama. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
“Pro life means protecting Life. People who are using IVF are trying to create life,” Pearl wrote on X. “This makes no sense. I’m confident Alabama lawmakers will fix this glitch ASAP as hundreds of couples are in the middle of the process!”
The Alabama Supreme Court earlier in the week ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a decision critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatment in the state. The decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic.
The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos, some of which were implanted and resulted in healthy births.
Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers walks prior to the game against the LSU Tigers at Neville Arena on Jan. 13, 2024 in Auburn, Alabama. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
ALABAMA PROVIDERS SUSPEND IVF TREATMENTS AFTER STATE COURT’S RULING AS FERTILITY EXPERTS WEIGH IN
The couples had paid to keep others frozen in a storage facility at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.
In response to the court’s ruling, the largest hospital system in Alabama — the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) — announced on Wednesday that it would be suspending its in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments.
“The UAB Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility has paused in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments as it evaluates the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision that a cryopreserved embryo is a human being,” the hospital said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday.
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Additionally, on Thursday, two additional fertility providers — Alabama Fertility Specialists and the Center for Reproductive Medicine in Mobile, Alabama — both announced that they would be pausing their IVF treatments, according to local reports.
Fox News’ Melissa Ruddy and Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.
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