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The CDC approximates that 2.3% of U.S. births each year result from assisted reproductive technologies (ART).
Undergoing fertility treatment like IVF is often a challenging and complicated journey that can be invasive, emotionally and financially taxing, and take a tremendous toll on a family even when things go as planned.
Missing Safety Protocols, Concerned Families Nationwide
As families and individuals across the country increasingly seek assistance in growing their families, it is more important than ever for hopeful parents to understand the lack of regulations in this industry that could potentially impact their fertility journey. The lack of mandated, commonsense safety protocols and focus on profit can and does result in negligent failures that further complicate the process and deeply affect hopeful parents.
Individuals across the country whose invaluable eggs, embryos, and other genetic material have been damaged or destroyed by cryogenic storage facilities, fertility clinics, genetic testing laboratories, and IVF supply manufacturers nationwide are seeking justice against these companies through our civil justice system. Current litigation includes cases against leading fertility company CooperSurgical over allegations that the company’s defective IVF solution damaged or destroyed eggs and embryos as well as cases against fertility company Natera and medical supply giant Thermo Fisher for the use of faulty preimplantation genetic tests.
IVF has become an even more salient topic for many Americans and has grabbed the attention of legislators following the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent decision that embryos are legally considered children. Bills with varying provisions related to IVF have been introduced in statehouses and the federal government over the last several months.
Recent legislative and judicial developments:
Both U.S. Senate Democrats and Republicans have introduced bills related to IVF in 2024.
The Alabama Legislature passed a bill intended to protect access to IVF, but it also provided doctors, clinics, and health care personnel who provide IVF treatment with liability protections against criminal or civil litigation, even in the event of negligence.
Lawmakers in Iowa considered an IVF bill earlier this year, which did not end up passing but could have had implications on IVF access in the state. If it had, it would have changed Iowa’s fetal homicide law to apply penalties to the death or injury of an “unborn person,” changing the language from applying such penalties to a “human pregnancy.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute and Center for Reproductive Rights, three states have enacted fetal personhood laws (Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri), at least 12 other states have introduced these bills (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, and Alaska) and Arizona enacted the law although it is currently blocked.
Protecting access to IVF and other fertility assistance is vital, but it cannot be done at the expense of patients by removing fertility companies’ liability when they are negligent and curtailing access to justice. Hopeful parents deserve both access to fertility assistance and access to the civil justice system to pursue accountability against any fertility company that acts negligently and causes harm to their irreplaceable eggs and embryos.
Fertility justice for marginalized communities
If you have been harmed by a fertility company’s negligence and are interested in seeking justice, please reach out to us using the form below. Our diverse team understands the challenges marginalized communities face and is dedicated to helping you get justice.
Lieff Cabraser is a proud advocate for all individuals, including those in marginalized communities.
For members of the LGBTQ+ community, IVF and other fertility assistance options are often the only way to start a family or have biological children. Additionally, Black and Latina women are more likely to experience infertility but have less access to assisted reproductive technologies. We understand this struggle and work to provide support and some measure of justice for all our clients.
Pacific Fertility Center Case Study
In June 2021, five plaintiffs won a $15 million verdict in the Pacific Fertility Center (PFC) cryogenic tank failure & embryo destruction lawsuit. In the 2018 complaint, hopeful parents alleged the clinic destroyed or seriously damaged hundreds of cryogenically preserved eggs and embryos stored at its facility in San Francisco after liquid nitrogen depletion in one of its storage tanks. The jury found the freezer tank manufacturer to be most at fault, though the clinic also shared some of the blame for the tragic losses.
News Coverage
$15M awarded over eggs, embryos ruined at fertility clinic, The Associated Press – June 10, 2021
Nearly $15M awarded after eggs, embryos lost at CA fertility clinic. ‘Really painful’, The Sacramento Bee – June 11, 2021
Five fertility clinic patients awarded $15m after failure of freezing tank, The Guardian – June 12, 2021
Fertility companies facing allegations of failures
Pacific Fertility Center – San Francisco, CA
HRC Fertility – Pasadena, CA
CNY Fertility Colorado and CNY Fertility – Colorado Springs, CO and Syracuse, NY
Yale Fertility Clinic – Orange, CT
Ovation – Newport Beach, CA
Natera – Austin, TX
CooperSurgical – Trumbull, CT
Contact Us
If you have been harmed by a fertility company’s negligence and are interested in learning more about your potential next steps, please reach out using the form