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fertilizing an egg in vitro

After numerous rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF), Genevieve Pearson Adair was excited to have 18 fertilized eggs. But it turned out that 14 of them have the Fragile X gene associated with intellectual and developmental disability. She has kept them frozen, unsure of what to do, hoping for a time when medical science could provide clearer answers.

But now, with the constitutional right to abortion hanging in the balance, she fears the right to determine their fate may be taken away from her.

A potential Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, amid the roiling landscape of state reproductive politics, is expected to open the door to state laws that give human embryos legal rights and protections — a possibility that would throw the fertility industry into upheaval and potentially limit choices would-be parents currently have about whether to use, store or discard genetic material that is part of the in vitro fertilization process.

“I and others are fearful of being labeled murderers for trying to do what is best not just for our children, but...