Alabama embryo ruling may have devastating effect on cancer patients [View all]

Alabama embryo ruling may have devastating effect on cancer patients

By Sabrina Malhi
February 25, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. EST

A cancer diagnosis often comes with a host of difficult decisions, including what to do about the impact of treatment on a person’s fertility. Many individuals grappling with this dual burden turn to in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a way to preserve their reproductive options. … That’s why cancer patients and oncologists are expressing shock and anxiety about the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered children under the law.

The ruling is already having a chilling effect on IVF clinics in the state. Worries are mounting that other states could adopt similar rulings that would impede fertility medicine for people, including many cancer patients, who say assisted reproductive technology might be their only way of having a family after treatments.

“We’re leaving a lot of young men and women to deal with the long-lasting effects of the cancer treatments, and some of those effects could be infertility and premature menopause,” said Deanna Gerber, a gynecologic oncologist at NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center who is a triple-negative breast cancer survivor.

“It’s the responsibility of the oncologist to think about … not just treating the cancer, but to think about the long-term effects that these treatments can have on the patient’s life, and quality of life.”

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