Group sues seven Utah fertility clinics on behalf of multiple women

The pro-life group Voice for the Voiceless has filed a lawsuit against seven Utah fertility clinics, alleging that the clinics violate constitutional protections and state law when they dispose of embryos created during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures.

Key Takeaways:

• The group Voice for the Voiceless has filed a lawsuit against seven Utah fertility clinics alleging that the clinics violate the constitutional right to life when they destroy embryos created through IVF.

• The lawsuit focuses on the fact that embryos are human beings from the very moment of conception.

• One of the plaintiffs, "Jane Doe 1," suffered emotional distress when her excess embryos were destroyed.

• Among other things, the plaintiffs are asking the courts to prevent the fertility clinics from continuing to operate in a manner that would destroy embryos.

The Details:

Voice for the Voiceless is a pro-life group based in Utah, which, according to its lawsuit, “focuses on helping to preserve the lives of unborn minor children from abortion and from any other act that terminates the life of a minor child.”

The group's lawsuit focuses on the fact that embryos are human beings from the very moment of fertilization. Therefore, when those embryos are destroyed via common IVF practices, their constitutionally-protected right to life is violated.

“The result is that thousands of embryos—live human beings—are killed prior to birth by Defendants and the manner of how they practice IVF,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants could practice IVF in a legal manner that would preserve life and only fertilize eggs that will be implanted into their clients, but they refuse to do so out of convenience and financial gain.”

According to ABC 4, the lawsuit cites several plaintiffs, including Jane Doe 1, who says she suffered emotional distress after her embryos were destroyed at a Utah fertility clinic.

“Ms. Doe 1 believes that human embryos are human life. And it concerns her that she does not have clarity about how the clinic treated her embryos,” the lawsuit says. “Ms. Doe 1 never knew about the opportunity to put her embryos up for adoption, and if this was an option, she would have considered it as an alternative to discarding human embryo.”

“The level of sadness, sense of loss, and anguish is comparable to if she had lost a child after birth,” the lawsuit also states. “Jane Doe 1’s stress was further compounded in that her husband was extremely angry that the clinic would throw away their children, and she needed to comfort and calm him down as well.”

The lawsuit specifically names seven Utah fertility clinics, including:

• Conceptions Fertility Center

• East Bay Fertility Center

• Reproductive Care Center

• Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine

• Utah Fertility Center

• Utah Fertility Specialists

• Wellnest Fertility Clinic

According to ABC 4:

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the defendants failed to fully inform their patients of their practices and that their IVF practices resulted in the wrongful death of the embryos. They are also asking the court to prevent the defendants from practicing IVF in a way that results in the death of embryos, and for financial relief.

Zoom In:

According to a study published in Fertility and Sterility, as many as 13 million children have been born through IVF around the world since 1978. Each IVF cycle creates multiple embryos, which are then screened and graded, with only the most desirable embryos implanted. The rest are either frozen indefinitely, destroyed, or fail to implant in a future IVF cycle.

Research published in Reproductive Biomedicine Online states that over 2.5 million IVF cycles are performed every year, yet just 500,000 babies are born annually from the process. Along the way, countless embryos are destroyed.

"Human life begins at fertilization, and both the Word of God and the laws of this state recognize that reality," Voice for the Voiceless said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. "This case is not about changing the law, but about requiring its faithful enforcement — so that every human life receives equal protection without partiality."

The Bottom Line:

This Utah lawsuit recognizes that each embryo is a completely unique human being. IVF is inherently wrong because it commodifies the creation of these human beings and results in the widespread destruction of countless innocent lives.