The Alabama Ruling That Could Stop Families From Having Kids

 A surprise ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court has halted fertility treatments across the state and sent a shock wave through the world of reproductive health.

Azeen Ghorayshi, who covers sex, gender, and science for The Times, explains what the court case means for reproductive health and a patient in Alabama explains what it is like navigating the fallout.

Guests: Azeen Ghorayshi, who covers sex, gender and science for The New York Times; and Meghan S. Cole, who is in the final stages of IVF treatment in Alabama.

Background reading: 

• Alabama ruled frozen embryos are children, raising questions about fertility care.
• Fertility clinics are routinely sued by patients for errors that destroy embryos, as happened in Alabama. An effort to define them legally as “unborn children” has raised the stakes.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.