In states that don't permit abortion, there could be an array of unintended consequences for couples seeking fertility treatments.
Depending on their language and interpretation, state abortion bans might hamper access to fertility treatments and criminalize the practice of freezing or discarding unused embryos created during in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
"Fertility benefits as we know them today are in jeopardy in certain parts of the country and may become more restricted, as well as more expensive, over time," said Lauren Winans, chief executive officer for Next Level Benefits, an HR consulting firm in Pittsburgh.
"We are in for a prolonged period of uncertainty," said Sean Tipton, chief advocacy and policy officer for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization representing reproductive medicine providers. "There's going to be a lot of legislating in the next year and a half probably, and following the legislation, there will almost certainly be litigation, so I think it's going to be a while before we can provide definitive answers."
"This just exploded with questions in all sorts of areas," said Alina Salganicoff, director of women's health policy for Kaiser Family Foundation, based in San Francisco. "There's a lot that's going to shake out over time. Right now, we have way more questions than we have answers on all fronts."
Most of the state abortion laws are silent on whether they could apply to IVF practices.
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REUTERS/Eric Lee U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin gave his own account of conversations he and President Trump had with Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani regarding the IC...