Schultz v. State of Alabama

In February 2026, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created via IVF are considered children under state law, leading to the destruction of embryos being treated as wrongful death. Following this decision, several IVF clinics halted services to avoid legal liability. The Schultz family and other plaintiffs, who were in the process of IVF treatment, sued the State of Alabama. They argued that the court-created embryo personhood framework and the subsequent clinic closures violated their fundamental rights to reproductive autonomy and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The suit sought a federal injunction to prevent the state from enforcing the embryo personhood standard, allowing IVF treatments to resume.

Pending in federal district court as of mid-2026. The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the state supreme court's opinion, arguing it causes irreparable harm by denying them the ability to conceive genetically related children.

The central dispute is whether an embryo created through IVF constitutes a living child with full legal rights, thereby criminalizing standard IVF practices, and whether this designation unconstitutionally infringes upon individuals' fundamental rights to reproductive choice and family building.

The decision sent shockwaves through the fertility industry nationwide, prompting fears of legal liability for standard practices like embryo freezing, genetic testing, and disposal of non-viable embryos. It galvanized reproductive rights advocates and created a new front in the post-Dobbs legal battles, with multiple states introducing legislation to explicitly protect IVF access against personhood claims.