A Texas lawmaker who is pursuing fertility treatments is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to protect access to in vitro fertilization after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children.
Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D-Plano) said she became concerned about the status of IVF in Texas after the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling. She's urging Texans to sign her petition to encourage lawmakers to protect and improve access to fertility treatments.
Plesa said access to IVF is a reproductive right — and one that is very important to her personally as she tries to start family.
“My mother is my hero,” Plesa said. “She's the strongest woman I know, and I just hope to be able to be… a strong mother like her one day.”
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that frozen embryos have the same rights as children under state law. The ruling was prompted by a wrongful death suit where three Alabama couples undergoing fertility treatment sued after their frozen embryos were destroyed.
“We really have to be careful when the judiciary essentially is now coming into your doctor's office, because these are not medical professionals,” she said.
Abbott was asked about the Alabama court’s decision on CNN. He praised IVF as a method to help more people become parents.
But the governor didn’t indicate if he’d urge the legislature to file bills next session that would protect the fertility treatment’s legality in Texas, saying it was a complicated issue.
“No one really knows what the potential answers are,” Abbott said. “And I think you're gonna see states across the entire country coming together and grappling with these issues and coming up with solutions.”
The largest hospital in Alabama stopped providing IVF treatment as a result of the ruling. Plesa said she wants to prevent something like that happening in Texas.
“That’s going to make this process more inaccessible, more expensive,” she said.
Plesa said she plans to file bills during the next legislative session to keep IVF legal in Texas.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a Report For AmericaCorps member for KERA News.
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