IVF providers in Nebraska say abortion ban could threaten fertility treatment

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Five providers of IVF, or in vitro fertilization, have publicly voiced their opposition to abortion bans in Nebraska.

Bans went into effect in multiple states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and other state legislatures are considering them.

In Nebraska, a ban failed to pass this year, but language in the bill still concerns IVF providers.

One in eight American families will struggle with infertility, but IVF has been one procedure couples can use to overcome that and grow their families.

“In vitro fertilization is the process where we take an egg and a sperm, and we unite them outside of the body,” said Dr. Abigail Delaney of Methodist Health System in Omaha. “We culture that embryo that is created in an incubator, and then we transfer an embryo back into the uterus.”

The bill collides with IVF due to it being what’s called a “personhood” bill, one that operates under the assumption that life begins at conception.

Dr. Elizabeth Constance of Heartland Center for Reproductive Medicine said there is a cause for concern about the fate of these treatments under the language of personhood bills.

“That can have drastic implications for infertility treatments and IVF because we are working with fertilized eggs and embryos in a lab, so there is definite overlap there, which can make it either hard or impossible to perform these treatments in Nebraska,” Constance said.

As of right now, nothing has changed in the state, but the Legislature could hold a special session later this summer to consider an abortion ban.

“Our ability to provide care and standards is no different, and collectively, the five of us are working tooth and nail to make sure that does not change in our state,” Constance said.