Alabama governor signs legislation protecting IVF providers from legal liability into law
Alabama lawmakers hustled through legislation on Wednesday that prevented in vitro fertilization providers from facing legal liability following last month’s state Supreme Court’s ruling that frozen embryos have the rights of children.
The controversial decision sparked outcry across the state and nation and led to three major IVF providers in the state to close their doors, at least temporarily, before the state legislature overwhelmingly approved the measure that was then quickly signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey.
“The overwhelming support of SB (Senate Bill) 159 from the Alabama Legislature proves what we have been saying: Alabama works to foster a culture of life, and that certainly includes IVF,” Ivey said in a statement Wednesday night.
“I am confident that this legislation will provide the assurances our IVF clinics need and will lead them to resume services immediately.”
Providers won’t face civil lawsuits or criminal prosecution if there is “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services, the law states.
While the fast-tracked legislation was meant to get clinics reopened, it didn’t address the legal status of embryos.
Lawmakers in the state House approved the measure 81-12 and the Senate then voted in favor 29-1, according to USA Today.
Republican Sen. Tim Melson, who sponsored the legal immunity bill, said he was “just elated to get these ladies back on schedule.”
Staff from one of the paused clinics, Alabama Fertility, said they will resume embryo transfers starting Thursday.
“We have some transfers tomorrow and some Friday. This means that we will be able to do embryo transfers and hopefully have more pregnancies and babies in the state of Alabama,” Dr. Mamie McLean said after the vote.
The contention began last month when three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a storage facility were granted the ability by the state Supreme Court to pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children,” which equated embryos to children or a gestating fetus.
While Democrats proposed a bill that states a human embryo outside the uterus can’t be deemed an unborn child, the GOP majority declined to advance the measure.
“I think there is too much difference of opinion on when actual life begins. A lot of people say conception,” Melson, the bill sponsor, said. “A lot of people say implantation. Others say heartbeat. I wish I had the answer.”
Civil lawsuits could still be pursued against manufacturers of IVF-related goods, but legal damages would be limited and criminal prosecution would be prohibited.
One mother who was hoping to get pregnant with her second child through IVF was “super thankful” that Wednesday’s law was signed off.
“The past two-and-a-half weeks have been the most stressful time of my journey and I’ve been through a lot,” Liz Goldman said.
Republicans and Democrats have thrown support behind IVF treatment in recent weeks, including former President Donald Trump, who is in the middle of another run for the White House.
“Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
With Post wires.
