For many cancer patients, IVF is their only hope for having children.
But a sweeping ruling in Alabama over frozen embryos could affect the future of IVF throughout the nation. That ruling says that frozen embryos are people, and those who destroy them can be held liable.
When Anistie Held was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, doctors told her she needed chemo to save her life — but the treatment would also make her unable to conceive. The American Cancer Society says certain surgeries and treatments can cause infertility in about two-thirds of all young patients.
"I always wanted to be a mom," said Held, who now lives in Springfield, Virginia. "I wanted to have multiple kids. And cancer took that away from me, initially, I thought."
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Living in Florida at the time, Held froze her eggs at a nearby clinic in Alabama. She and her then-fiancée had to cancel their wedding plans to afford it. They eloped on the beach instead.
This all happened as she prepared to start chemo and battle cancer.
"It is the most traumatizing thing a person can go through, and I’m sure other cancer patients can understand," she said.
'The chilling effect of this decision'
Held has now finished treatment and is cancer free. She and her husband moved to Northern Virginia after Roe vs. Wade was overturned.
"We heard about that news. I was like, 'IVF is gonna be next; I just know it,'" she said.
In the wake of the Alabama ruling, several fertility clinics there have already paused IVF treatments. The clinic where Held went is among them.
"They said they paused all their IVF treatments. So I’m so glad that I did decide to move, but I know that other people aren’t as lucky to do so," she said. "So my heart breaks for them."
But Held faces another challenge: getting her eggs out of Alabama. She’s trying to hire a service to help.
"I’m an IVF baby as well, so it’s passionate for me. My parents tried so hard to have me, and they explained that to me every day of my life," she said.
If Held is able to get her eggs, she and her husband hope to start IVF later this year.
The American Cancer Society issued a statement about the Alabama ruling, saying it’s "concerned about the chilling effect of this decision on access to care and fertility services for cancer patients."
