This fertility clinic is trying to democratize IVF, just as some groups are condemning it

Since February, when Alabama’s Supreme Court declared frozen embryos are legally considered children, fertility clinics around the country have been weighing the implications of a political movement that’s suddenly turned hostile toward IVF.

Since February, when Alabama’s Supreme Court declared frozen embryos are legally considered children, fertility clinics around the country have been weighing the implications of a political movement that’s suddenly turned hostile toward IVF. Although Alabama has since passed legislation to protect in vitro fertilization, the ruling seemed to open a new front in the far-right’s attacks on reproductive freedom. It could also threaten growth in the booming IVF market, which last year brought in an estimated $8 billion in revenue. Last month, Progyny, the nation’s only publicly traded fertility benefits company, saw its shares sink to a two-year low after it warned that the ruling was scaring off potential customers. IVF also took center stage last week at the Southern Baptist Convention, where church leaders effectively condemned the practice. Nightcap sat down with Gina Bartasi, who founded Progyny in 2015, to discuss her latest project, Kindbody, a national fertility clinic network she launched in 2018 that now boasts 35 clinics around the country. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.