CINCINNATI — Alabama's Supreme Court ruling that embryos critical for reproductive care were legally the same as children has had wide-reaching impacts — including more than 500 miles away in the greater Cincinnati area where the Institute for Reproductive Health serves patients in Florence and Norwood.
Medical Director Thomas Burwinkel said the ruling has caused concern among patients in Kentucky and Ohio that their treatments could be delayed or ended amid the uncertain climate created after the federal Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade.
"Our patients are coming in and asking, 'Does this Supreme Court decision in Alabama have any effect on our embryos at our clinic?' I said, 'It doesn't right now, but who knows?' In time, it could have implications for us," Burwinkel said.
Burwinkel said he's performed in vitro fertilization on patients for 35 years, nearly 20 of them with the Institute for Reproductive Health, and the uncertain atmosphere created by recent rulings has left him asking whether criminal prosecutions could follow the loss of embryos routine to the practice.
"If somebody in a lab drops a culture dish and embryos are lost, is that going to be considered murder or manslaughter?" he said.
The rhetoric of groups like Ohio Right to Life and Kentucky Right to Life equating embryos to born children exacerbated his fears.
Addia Wuchner, President of Kentucky Right to Life, said her organization wouldn't push for any law changes in Kentucky, but she agreed with the Alabama ruling.
"They ruled appropriately recognizing that those were lives," Wuchner said.
Ohio Right to Life's Mike Gonidakis said the Alabama Supreme Court was correct to place a higher weight on the value of embryos, but, like Wuchner, said Ohio didn't need stricter laws on IVF.
Gonidakis said a facility that destroyed embryos through negligence or malpractice would need to face consequences which, he said, was effectively what the Alabama Supreme Court ruled.
"The court said this isn't just a widget," he said. "These are embryos. These are living, breathing, future children, boys, girls, what have you. The court said it could be held to a higher standard."
Burwinkel pushed back on the concept embryos, which are fertilized eggs yet to be implanted in a woman's uterus, could be weighed on the same level as born children or developed fetuses.
"It does not have fingers, toes, it does not have arms or legs, it doesn't have a brain. It doesn't have a heartbeat. It's just a collection of 120 to 150 cells," he said.
Kentucky's Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Thursday he would sign IVF protections if they arrived on his desk.
"The Alabama Supreme Court ruling is horrendous," Beshear said. "It's terrible, and it's going to keep families that are there in Alabama from welcoming new children into this world.
Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday called the ruling a non-issue in Ohio.
"I don't think there's any movement at all in Ohio to try to stop that. In fact, the law would prohibit stopping it," said DeWine.
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