JEFFERSON CITY — A ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court this month, which that frozen embryos are “extrauterine children — that is, unborn children who are located outside of a biological uterus,†is pouring new fuel on the ongoing national fight over reproductive rights.
The Alabama ruling has already forced clinics there to pause , or IVF, treatments, prompting concerns that socially conservative states like Missouri may follow suit.
Missouri currently allows abortion only in cases in which a mother’s life is endangered, but abortion-rights groups are mounting an effort to change that by amending the Missouri Constitution.
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House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat running for governor, said the Alabama ruling underscores the importance of the effort to restore abortion rights in the state through a ballot initiative.
“We need to get politicians out of our doctor’s offices and give this power back to the people where it belongs,†she said.
Quade called the Alabama ruling “terrifying†but not surprising, given the fights in Jefferson City over the definition of personhood.
Republicans, who have championed the anti-abortion cause for decades, currently have a firm grip on Missouri state government, with supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature and control of all statewide elected offices.
But leading Republicans are drawing the line at stopping IVF treatments, which are sought by some would-be parents who want to have biological children but have difficulty conceiving.
Republican House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit physician, told reporters Monday that Missourians should not be worried about accessing IVF.
“I strongly support IVF and it should be legal in Missouri, and I strongly support families being able to access IVF to have children,†he said.
Missouri says that life begins and conception and “unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and well-being.â€
But conception is not clearly defined in Missouri law.
“This has long been a problem in reproductive health care,†said , a law professor at the Center for Health Law Studies at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University. The U.S. Supreme Court has said that it is up to states to define their own abortion and reproductive health care laws, she said.
The Missouri Supreme Court has not yet clearly said that fetal personhood laws in the state include embryos created through in vitro fertilization, Fields Allbrook said. But it could, and that’s why there is such an “uproar†about Alabama’s decision.
“It gives us a strong, uncomfortable precedent,†she said.
, a Center for Health Law Studies professor at SLU who has law and medical degrees, said there is a divide between state courts and state legislators, who are more accountable to the constituents who elect them.
“Even if the Missouri Supreme Court were to take on a case and were to decide on embryonic personhood, the way the Alabama Court did,†said Sinha, “the Missouri Legislature would probably step up and really ratify that exception.â€
But Fields Allsbrook said that because the issue has yet to be heard by the Missouri Supreme Court, there is not yet assurance that these questions about fetal personhood won’t develop into an issue for those seeking IVF. If the Legislature wanted to give people assurance, she said, it could pass a law carving out an exception for IVF from fetal personhood.
Former President Donald Trump on Friday, on social media platform Truth Social, said, “Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families ... That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America. Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby.â€
And on Monday, U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Town and Country, a staunch anti-abortion advocate, echoed that view in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I am a strong supporter of IVF efforts for Missouri women, and I do not support any efforts to ban IVF and close women off from their dream of having a family.â€
Editor’s note: Jamille Fields Allsbrook is an abortion-rights advocate who serves on the board of a reproductive health and rights organization and in the past worked for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.