A ruling last month from the Alabama Supreme Court declaring frozen embryos to be legally equivalent to children scared many would-be parents in and out of the state. Late Wednesday night, the state legislature there passed a law meant to ease the worries of both patients receiving in-vitro fertilization services and the doctors who provide those services.

But, as Bloomberg Government reporter Alex Ruoff explains in this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, the new law doesn't actually overturn the ruling but instead enacts a narrow liability shield for the reproductive health care field. That has many worrying that access to IVF in Alabama will still be restricted, he says, and looking to Congress for nationwide clarity.

Ruoff is joined by Bloomberg Law reporter Celine Castronuovo, who explains the legal minefield now facing IVF doctors and patients, and also why there's little stopping judges in many other states from issuing similar rulings.

Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.