I.V.F. in the Headlines: Support for Families and Providers

With the news of Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling that frozen embryos created through IVF should be considered children, I wanted to dedicate this month’s post to everyone out there whom this has touched.

When the unfathomable happened with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we all just felt like we were watching a train wreck. So much fear arose around the potential implications that could ripple beyond the decision and into all aspects of reproductive health. Now it feels like those implications are coming to fruition, begging the question, “How far does this go?”

This court decision injects so much uncertainty into the lives of families undergoing I.V.F. Once, a statement like, “I had a great retrieval,” was purely exciting. Now, “I had a great retrieval,” raises a lot of questions. The idea of having 10 viable, fertilized eggs – what does that mean if some of them get discarded?

I.V.F. is emotionally distressing enough: to go in and do hormones and a retrieval and the transfer and PGT testing. Then to layer on the looming fear of the legal system? In the D.C. area where I practice, it’s already an anxious environment with the election year. To layer on something else right now, it just feels so horrific and disgusting.

I don’t have answers. What I want to communicate is: Bring up your feelings around this decision. I’m here to support you. I’m here for the reproductive mental health community. I’m here for the providers, who have their own looming fears. It’s okay. This is a safe space to process.

Please reach out and let me know if there’s some way I can be of service.