After the controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling on in vitro fertilization and the scramble for clarification, the Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding its IVF benefits regardless of marital status and will permit the use of donor eggs, sperm, and embryos for the first time.
The updated benefits will also grant access to same-sex couples or those who are unmarried.
The use of donors is "a critical step toward helping Veterans who are not able to produce their own sperm or eggs due to service-connected injuries and health conditions," the department said in a statement Monday.
While the VA does not currently cover surrogacy, the department said the "VA has advocated for this IVF expansion for years, including submitting repeated legislative proposals to expand IVF services at VA."
Alabama lawmakers last week advanced legislation that would protect IVF services in the state by extending lawsuit protections to clinics that provide the service. Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the bill into law and said in a statement that IVF is "a complex issue, no doubt," and said more work needed to be done.
"But right now, I am confident that this legislation will provide the assurances our IVF clinics need and will lead them to resume services immediately," Ivey said.
Immediately after Thursday's signing, Alabama Fertility Specialist resumed embryo transfers, various news outlets reported. Dr. Mamie McLean told CBS News that being able to see patients again was "incredibly exciting."
"We were able to talk about IVF care," McLean told CBS. "We were able to timeline — lots of smiles, lots of hope and optimism."
The controversy began when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos are children.