A mother's dream of expanding her family has hit a roadblock following a significant ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court, which now legally considers frozen embryos as children within the state.
Latorya Beasley, a dedicated social worker hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, and her husband Lamar, embarked on the journey of IVF (in vitro fertilization) in 2020 after grappling with infertility. IVF, a medical procedure detailed by the Mayo Clinic as involving the collection of mature eggs from ovaries, fertilization by sperm in a lab, and subsequent placement of resulting embryos into the uterus, offers hope for couples struggling to conceive. A single cycle of IVF spans 2 to 3 weeks.
Despite encountering delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Beasley initiated her initial IVF round towards the end of 2021. Following a successful transfer in April 2022, Beasley joyously welcomed her daughter Lyric into the world in 2023.
Now at 38 years old, Beasley and her husband expressed their desire for siblings close in age for Lyric. Consequently, Beasley scheduled a doctor's appointment in October 2023 to explore preparations for another IVF cycle.
However, the couple's optimism was marred by unsettling developments in February 2024, as discussions surrounding the legal status of frozen embryos began to surface, casting a shadow of uncertainty over their plans.
Beasley recounted, "When we first started, everything was going pretty smoothly. But we started hearing some of the chatter that was going on in February 2024."
The Alabama Supreme Court's ruling, deeming frozen embryos as legally equivalent to children, has not only stalled Beasley's hopes for expanding her family but has also sparked widespread conversation and concern among couples navigating the complexities of assisted reproductive technologies.
Amidst discussions of a potential Supreme Court ruling concerning IVF, Latorya Beasley found herself unexpectedly impacted when the ruling became a reality.
"I started to get a little concerned, but of course I'm a pretty typical American where we think that things don't affect us," Beasley admits. "The week that we started prepping for transfer, my husband even made the comment, ‘Well, we're on medicines now, surely it won't affect us at all.’ We just never thought that it would really affect us, but it did."
On February 16, the Alabama Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling, declaring frozen embryos as legally equivalent to children. This verdict stemmed from a wrongful death lawsuit initiated by couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed at a fertility clinic in December 2020.
The ramifications of the ruling reverberated across the medical community, with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) expressing grave concerns. "No healthcare provider will be willing to provide treatments if those treatments may lead to civil or criminal charges," ASRM emphasized in a statement condemning the decision.
Reflecting on the day of the ruling, Beasley recalls the palpable sense of panic and uncertainty that gripped the fertility clinic. "The day that the first clinic shut down, which was UAB [University of Alabama at Birmingham], I was in the doctor's office and the first clue that something wasn't right was everybody seemed panicked," she shares. "The patients seemed a little panicked and just in a disarray."
Navigating through the aftermath, Beasley recounts the moment her doctor alerted her to the potential implications of the ruling on her IVF transfer. "I go in and my doctor, she just didn't look right. And she's like, ‘Yeah, you may want to call Lamar.’ She's like, ‘As of right now, we're moving forward, but this court ruling could possibly affect your transfer.’"
Shortly after that conversation, Beasley’s clinic ultimately closed, and her scheduled transfer, which was set for March 4, was canceled.
“We were right there,” she says. “I was literally just a couple of days out from the transfer.”
“Initially, it was just sadness,” she adds. “I think that's kind of how infertility goes. You just kind of go on this range of emotions all the time. One day you're high because you're very hopeful, and then the next day you may be down because you get some type of news. So we were just very sad, but eventually our sadness turned to just complete anger.”
Beasley says she’s always paid attention to politics. So when Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 after nearly 50 years, effectively eliminating a pregnant person's constitutional right to an abortion in every state, she “knew what was at stake.”
“But again, you don't think that it'll happen to you,” Beasley says, noting that she realized just how much of an impact the ruling had on women’s reproductive rights, beyond just abortion.
“You start to wonder, well, what could be next? I think that was just what really ignited the anger, like how did we get here? How can we allow this to happen?”
Since her transfer was canceled, Beasley admits that she’s “gone into mama bear mode” and is willing to do whatever it takes to see change happen.
“I'll advocate. I'll tell my story, as uncomfortable as it may be. I'll tell it a thousand times if I have to,” she says.
Beasley recently attended the State of the Union as a guest of first lady Dr. Jill Biden. She has been sharing her story with lawmakers at the state and federal level, including a roundtable convened by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“I just hope that they'll hear my story and pay attention. I hope that they'll get out and exercise their rights to vote because you have to protect just women's fundamental rights,” she stresses.
In the meantime, Beasley is keeping her fingers crossed at the hope of expanding her family soon through IVF.
“We still have not transferred today,” she tells. “When things stopped in Alabama, we stayed on medicine for a little longer with the hopes that I would be able to transfer once everything opened back up. But unfortunately, we don’t know 100%."
The Quran - Chapter Qaf : 40
And glorify Him during part of the night1 and after the prayers.
وَأَدْبَارَ السُّجُودِ (...and at the ends of prostration.... 50:40) Mujahid (رح) interprets sujud in this verse to refer to the five obligatory prayers, and the phrase "at the ends of the prostrations", according to him, refers to all those tasbihat which authentic ahadith encourage us to recite after every prayer. Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: "Whosoever recites after every obligatory prayer 33 times subhanallah (سُبحَانَ اللہ), 33 times al-hamdulillah (اَلحَمدُ للہ) and 33 times allahu 'akbar (اللہُ اَکبَر), and once:
لَا اِلٰہَ ِالّا اللہُ وَحدَہُ ، لَا شَرِیکَ لَہُ ، لَہُ المُلکُ وَ لَہُ الحَمدُ وھُوَ علیٰ کُلِّ شیٔ قَدِیر
la ilaha illatlahu wahdahu la-sharika lahu lah-ul-mulku wa-lah-ul- hamdu wa huwa 'ala kulli shai'in qadeer.
- all his sins will be forgiven, even though they may be equal to the waves of the sea (Bukhari and Muslim). The phrase "at the ends of the prostrations" could also refer to the supererogatory prayers to be performed after the obligatory prayers as authentic Traditions testify (Mazhari).
