Two couples drop wrongful death suit against Alabama IVF clinic and hospital

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MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Two couples who sued a hospital and in-vitro fertilization clinic over the accidental destruction of their frozen embryos have dropped their lawsuit, months after Alabama's supreme court ruled they could pursue wrongful death claims because embryos could be considered children.

Emily and James LePage and William and Caroline Fonde filed to dismiss their joint lawsuit against the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Jill Parish Phillips granted the dismissal with prejudice on Wednesday, barring the couples from pursuing the case in the future. A third couple also sued — their similar wrongful death claim has not been withdrawn and is still ongoing.

Lawyers for the LePages and Fondes did not explain why they've dropped their claims. Associated Press emails and phone messages seeking comment were not immediately returned.

The couples had paid to keep their embryos frozen in a hospital storage facility. A patient wandered in and removed several, dropping the embryos on the floor.

The case became a flashpoint in the abortion debate when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that the couples could pursue wrongful death claims for the destruction of their “extrauterine children.”

Three large in-vitro fertilization clinics in Alabama closed immediately following the decision, citing liability concerns introduced when embryos are treated the same as children or gestating fetuses. After widespread, bipartisan backlash to the ruling, Alabama lawmakers passed a bill shielding doctors from legal liability for the destruction of embryos.

As recently as June, the three couples at the center of the legal battle also challenged the immunity bill, claiming that it was unconstitutional to apply a new statute to pending litigation, and that the law violated the state policy to recognize the “rights of unborn children, including the right to life.”

Lawyers for the IVF clinic and hospital could not be reached for comment.

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Safiyah Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.