MICHIGAN, USA — Michigan is currently a battleground for the abortion debate. With an injunction pausing a 1931 abortion ban from triggering, much of what lies ahead for reproductive rights in the state is unknown.
For many, that unknown filters into other aspects of healthcare, from contraception to lifesaving measures during an ectopic pregnancy. It also has people worried about IVF, or invitro fertilization, which is the only option for many couples to conceive a child on their own.
"We’re talking about 73,000 babies born in 2020," Said Dr. F Nicholas Shamma, President and CEO of IVF Michgan and IVF Ohio. "That’s a lot of kids." Shamma has been in the IVF practice for decades. He believes he and his colleagues are responsible for at least 10,000 births alone.
When the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, his office was flooded with calls from concerned parents-to-be. Most of that worry is not shared by Shamma, who feels the practice of IVF is outside of the abortion debate.
"I think that the 14th amendment gives us the ability to create life if we want to. That’s what we do with IVF, we are helping and creating life." Shamma says both pro-life and pro-choice supporters should agree that IVF is a worthy practice, one that should be kept legal regardless of one's stance on abortion.
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The practice relies on Cryopreservation of an embryo - creating a zygote and gets frozen and implanted at the right time. One of the state's biggest pro-choice supporters, Attorney General Dana Nessel, fears that aspect of IVF could get it entangled in the legal debate surrounding abortion.
"If you’re going to say that some of these are going to be unsuitable to be implanted we’re going to dispose of them," Nessel asked in a press conference Friday. "Are you now committing a felony offense by doing so?"
It's not known right now what the future of abortion is in Michigan, but Nessel fears it's a slippery slope.
Shamma isn't as concerned, saying even if the 1931 abortion ban goes into effect, prosecuting doctors for conducting IVF would not be feasible or agreeable with voters, the same way he feels about prosecuting physicians who administer lifesaving abortions in the case of ectopic pregnancies.
"I don’t think any politician with a reasonable IQ would actually prevent doctors like myself from offering whatever medical or surgical treatment that would, if not given," Shamma said "result in the death of a mom."
IVF Michigan plans to open a new facility in Grand Rapids early spring of 2023 which would include a surgery center, embryonic lab, and clinic.
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