In February, in vitro fertilisation was thrown into the spotlight when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos in the state should be considered children. The decision led to a pause on IVF procedures in parts of the state, and even a pause on shipping embryos out of state, to avoid potential criminal liability. In early March, a law was passed to protect IVF providers, prompting some clinics to resume the procedure, though legal challenges could still emerge.
The challenges that couples cite vary widely. They may not “have the time to try naturally”, said Copperman, who is also a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. “They want to use technology to achieve their reproductive goals,” he said.
Most insurance plans won’t cover IVF until after a heterosexual couple has tried to conceive naturally for at least a year if the woman is younger than 35, and for six months if she’s older. That means people who choose IVF are either paying for the procedure out of pocket or fudging the number of months they’ve been trying to conceive naturally.
“I met with a genetic counsellor after getting my test results, and we talked through what it meant,” said El-Badry Nance, who is now 30. “I learned about IVF and genetic testing on embryos and knew that was an option for me long before I was even thinking about having a baby.” “I lost my grandmother to cancer,” El-Badry Nance said. “My dad was diagnosed at stage 4. The risk profile is so high for my family.”
Dr Lucky Sekhon, who also works at RMA of New York, the fertility clinic, noted that though preimplantation genetic testing of embryos is not perfect, it can ensure embryos have the right number of chromosomes, which reduces the odds of miscarriage.