A Fine Kettle OF Fish

The title of this post has origins in the Scottish tradition of cooking-up a kettle of fish parts to make guests feel welcome.  The modern etymology of the title is reference to an awkward situation.  And indeed, Alabamians and their lawmakers have found themselves in an awkward situation today.

Some basics about natural conception and reproduction.  

A male gamete (sperm) combines with a female gamete (ovum) resulting in a fertilized ovum called a zygote. The zygote holds 100% of the genetic material - mother and father each contribute one-half - this develops into an embryo.  When an embryo successfully completes its journey of days and attaches to the wall of the uterus it will develop into a fetus.  And a child is born in the end.  That doesn't sound very romantic but that's the science of it.  There's a lot of moving parts and plenty of opportunity for something to go wrong along the way.  In a perfect world all of this happens without scientific intervention.   

What about people who cannot naturally conceive and reproduce?

The term In Vitro - Latin for 'in glass' - describes medical procedures, tests and experiments that scientists perform outside of a living organism.  In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a treatment process whereby a woman unable to naturally conceive a child can become pregnant.  IVF has been a godsend for people who cannot naturally conceive children.  Sperm and ovum are combined in a laboratory setting resulting in a fertilized zygote which will become an embryo.

IVF Human Embryo

This embryo is frozen for future implantation.  Once implanted, if the embryo successfully attaches to the lining of the uterus it becomes a fetus and, voila!  Maybe a child is born.  The uterine part of the process is critical because without that step the embryo cannot survive.

Collecting eggs for in vitro fertilization is complicated and includes some risk.  As a consequence multiple eggs are collected with the knowledge that once fertilized some will be genetically flawed (and discarded) and some will never successfully attach to the uterus following implantation.  Many couples naturally grow their families over a number of years so having some extra frozen embryos on hand solves the defective embryo situation along with implantation failures and can lead to more children.

Unused frozen embryos have typically been discarded.  Just as an acorn is not an oak until planted and successfully germinated; without uterine implantation the genetic material of the embryo cannot result in a child. 

Back to Alabama.  The Alabama Supreme Court ruled yesterday that frozen embryos - the product of in vitro fertilization - are children.  You can read the ruling here.  This complicates things for all of the embryos in cold storage.  What if the power goes off and they spoil?  Or you drop and break the container?  Discard genetically defective ones?  Discard good ones? 

It's none of my business if someone chooses to have a family or not to have a family.  Some couples have large families and some couples never have families for all kinds of reasons within and beyond their control.  That's their business and none of my concern.  Although I should add that I have personal knowledge of many families, immediate and otherwise, who have had children as a consequence of IVF treatments performed by doctors who God has endowed with tremendous and valuable medical talents.  

I also know that in a post-Roe world which restricts abortions in many states; if Republicans want to deprive couples from using the science of IVF to conceive and welcome children into a loving family then Alabama today finds itself in a awkward position.  A place where you are forced to give birth if you naturally conceive along with being a place where you cannot obtain IVF treatment if you really, really want to have a family. 

Having classified frozen embryos as children has complicated things.  Fearful of being civilly or criminally liable and arrested and thrown in jail or otherwise get cross-ways with the Alabama Supreme Court nobody knows what to do with all the frozen embryos.  The Law of Unintended Consequences has brought IVF treatment to a screeching halt.    

Reproductive stuff is complicated and the more Republicans continue to insert themselves into the reproductive lives and decisions of ordinary people the more they will continue to have a much larger problem with getting suburban women to vote for them on election day.  It's a fine kettle of fish they have concocted for themselves.

And don't forget.  Alabama is a Capital Punishment state.  They will put you to death for murder.  They're going to have a whole heap of trouble on their hands once they begin executing moms and dads and medical professionals over any mishandling of frozen embryos.

Sweet Home Alabama!