HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida infertility doctor is working to spread information about In Vetro Fertilization, and his message comes as a debate is happening on the national level following a Supreme Court ruling and new legislation in Alabama.
The ruling in Alabama said that embryos created during fertility treatments should be treated as children. Since then, the state passed new legislation to protect IVF clinics.
It sparked debate across the country.
“The pro-life position is that every child should be protected by love and by law," Scott Mahurin with Florida Preborn Rescue said.
Meanwhile, Doctor Samual Brown, the medical director at Brown Fertility, disagrees.
“They simply got it wrong where they are trying to say one frozen embryo equals one child. That is wrong," he said.
Doctor Brown explained that eight million Americans were born through IVF, and one in eight people have fertility issues.
Mahurin said he has ethical concerns with IVF.
“Whether that person is conceived in a test tube or in a womb, that is a new human being. So we believe that in the state of Florida and other states should protect all life from the moment of conception,” Mahurin said.
A similar bill in the Florida House stalled in response to the situation in Alabama. The Florida Unborn Child bill would have provided protection to an unborn child, but there was fear it could expose the Florida IVF clinics to lawsuits.
Republican Senator Erin Grall is the sponsor of the bill.
“I understand there is still work that needs to be done. It is important we get the policy right with an issue of this significance," a statement read.
Doctor Brown said doctors and lawmakers need to work together on legislation like this. He also explained that not all frozen embryos can become babies.
“One out of four, one out of five of those would be genetically normal to make a baby. The other ones just don’t make babies,” Doctor Brown said.
He said the fertilized egg can only grow into a baby if it is genetically normal. If that egg attaches to the uterus, then it is capable of growing into a life.
“People think when an egg and a sperm come together, that's a life. No, it’s not going to be a life until it attaches to a uterus and gets blood and nutrients from the mother,” Doctor Brown said.
