California mom's final embryo is frozen in Alabama, hopes new law means IVF can resume
LINCOLN -- Heather Maurer looks at her 19-month-old son Maximus and is filled with joy, knowing she would not be a mom today without modern science.
"He is just perfect. We couldn't ask for anything better," Maurer said. "He is a miracle baby. We are forever grateful for IVF."
After struggling with infertility for three years, Maurer and her husband were referred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital for infertility treatments, where she ultimately completed two cycles of in vitro fertilization.
They lived nearby in Columbus, Mississippi at the time.
"Infertility was hard for me. It was hard to be happy for friends who were getting pregnant because we were trying so hard, doing everything we could," Maurer said. "The joy I should have for a friend who was pregnant, it didn't feel genuine because I was so hurt. Why can't I have that happiness?"
Her time finally came after two IVF cycles brought her two successfully viable embryos, one now her son, Maximus.
In 2022, military orders quickly called her husband and growing family away from Mississippi to California. Maurer was pregnant with Maximus at the time of the move to Lincoln.
Her final viable embryo remained frozen at the Alabama hospital, waiting only for the time to be right for implantation further down the road.
"Because we knew our family will be complete at that time," Maurer said.
A shocking Supreme Court ruling
"My doctor called me. The first thing she said to me was, 'I'm sure you've heard the news,' " Maurer said.
She was, in fact, watching the morning news in late February when she first heard of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling: embryos created through IVF are children, and thus, are subject to wrongful death claims if damaged during the treatments.
This put IVF procedures on pause at multiple hospitals in Alabama, including where Maurer's final embryo is frozen.
"I felt devastated. I felt like I had no control over my life," she said.
Her March 20 date to implant her second embryo, hopefully leading to her second pregnancy, was canceled.
"I lost it. Our embryo is being held in the state of Alabama and there is nothing we can do about it," Maurer said.
Her first instinct was to ask her doctor to transfer the embryo to a hospital out of the state.
"She said, 'Heather, we can't even find a company that will touch an embryo. We've been trying,' " she recalled.
So, the Maurer family would wait for weeks not knowing the fate of their final IVF treatment or the embryo they felt was held hostage.
Hope on the horizon
Maurer said a Wednesday ruling gave her and her husband the hope they had been waiting for.
As CBS News reports, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation into law Wednesday shielding IVF providers and their patients from potential legal liability raised by the court ruling.
The bill, approved by the Republican-controlled state House and Senate on Wednesday night, protects providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the "damage or death of an embryo" during IVF services.
"Now, I'm just relieved that this is finally passed and we can move forward," Maurer said.
Maurer is talking to her doctor in Alabama daily, trying to get back on the hospital's schedule. She hopes to be fit in for her final treatment in April or May after losing her scheduled date in March.
Maurer said she has endured the physical and emotional toll of taking the medication to prepare for IVF.
"Hopefully, we don't have to wait too long. But I trust it will end with a happy little baby," Maurer said.
Maurer said that after being directly impacted by this state Supreme Court ruling, she stands firm in the belief that everyone should have access to IVF treatments – knowing what it has given her and what she almost stood to lose.
"We should be able to make an informed decision without the government telling us otherwise," Maurer said.
Maurer said that she has decided she will continue her treatment with her doctors at UAB, ultimately changing her mind about her original instinct to transfer the embryo to another hospital.
"Unfortunately, we don't really have the option to transfer our embryo anywhere else. The risks are just too high. We only have the one," she said.
CBS13 reached out to the UAB Hospital to ask when they will resume their canceled IVF treatments. A spokesperson for the hospital system responded:
"We are now working to get patients scheduled or rescheduled for treatments as soon as possible. Patients whose health circumstances or phase of treatment requires greater urgency will be scheduled first. We will work as swiftly as possible to get all patients' treatment resumed as soon as possible."
