Last month, Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally considered children and that people can be held liable for destroying them. The Alabama court decision — similar to the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade — is an attack on women, particularly their access to comprehensive health care, including reproductive care. Alabama also has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
These court cases, combined with restrictive state laws that deprive women of their bodily autonomy, have a chilling effect on the clinics and facilities that provide reproductive health care services. Indeed, in the immediate aftermath of the decision, Alabama’s largest in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic announced that it would suspend creating embryos. In states where courts issue these rulings and state legislatures pass these laws, doctors leave, women miss their treatments, and patients can lose their lives.
Reflecting on the abortion ban and the Alabama Supreme Court decision, Heather Skanes, an OB/GYN in Birmingham, said, “You have to have comprehensive legislation and rules in place that allow women to decide whether or not they want to become pregnant, how to prevent pregnancy, how to terminate a pregnancy if they desire to, and how to continue pregnancy if they decide to continue.” Fortunately, in Maine, our laws reflect this view.
In May 2021, the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee, conducted a public hearing on LD 1539, “An Act to Provide Access to Fertility Care.” During the hearing, one of our Saco friends and neighbors shared her deeply personal story with the committee.
She was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, which is a hormonal disorder, six months before finding out that she was pregnant for the first time. Days later, she rushed to the emergency room to have surgery for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. She lost her first pregnancy — and she nearly lost her life.
After the emergency surgery, she learned that she also has endometriosis, another medical condition that can complicate a women’s ability to become pregnant. Then she suffered a miscarriage and another ectopic pregnancy for a total of three failed pregnancies. Through no fault of her own, she had serious medical conditions that affected her fertility.
Without health insurance coverage, she and her husband spent $25,000 for the fertility treatments that would allow them to start a family right here in Maine. For them, it was worth it. Because of IVF, she and her husband welcomed their wonderful son, Asher, into the world.
By May 2022, Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 1539, “An Act to Provide Access to Fertility Care,” into law. At the stroke of a pen, Maine required insurance coverage for fertility treatment. When insurance companies offer policies, they must include fertility treatments in their coverage. The law took effect on Jan. 1, 2024, giving hope to many Mainers who are considering starting or growing their families.
I decided to share this story with you so that you know Maine still legally protects a woman’s access to fertility treatments. We also require your health insurance company to cover them. We’re also working on a new bill that, if approved by voters, would enshrine the right to reproductive autonomy in Maine’ constitution. Many women are reeling from these court cases and these laws. I hear you, and I see you.
If you are looking for information and resources for fertility treatments, here is a list: Fertility Centers of New England (Falmouth), Boston IVF — The Portland Fertility Center (South Portland), Boston IVF — The Bangor Fertility Center (Bangor), Coastal Women’s Healthcare (Scarborough), and Maine Family Planning. These providers offer a range of services and treatments including infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization (IVF), ovulation induction, frozen embryo transfer, polycystic ovary syndrome, and more.
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