Alabama governor comes out to ‘protect’ IVF treatments and providers
A month after Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling raised concerns over future of vitro fertilization providers the Gov. Kay Ivey has come out to protect citizens’ rights with a new legislation.
Alabama state Sen. Tim Melson talks with media after the Senate passed the SB159 bill (IVF Fertility Bill), Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)(AP)
Alabama Gov. has signed a new legislature to protect providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services.
Hindustan Times – your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.
Earlier the Alabama Supreme Court had ruled that embryos are children, leading to concerns about civil liabilities for clinics and prompted an outcry from patients and other groups.
The decision triggered wide outcry across the country and as a result three major IVF providers had paused services. Patients in Alabama also shared stories about having upcoming embryo transfers abruptly canceled and their paths to parenthood put in doubt.
“I am pleased to sign this important, short-term measure into law so that couples in Alabama hoping and praying to be parents can grow their families through IVF,” said Ivey, a Republican.
Cheering the decision Republican Sen. Tim Melson, who sponsored the bill, said he was “just elated to get these ladies back on schedule.”
Doctors from Alabama Fertility, one of the clinics that had paused IVF services, watched as the bill got final passage. They said it will allow them to resume embryo transfers “starting tomorrow.”
“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.
Alabama Supreme Court Ruling
Last month the state Supreme Court had allowed three couple whose frozen embryos were destroyed in a storage facility accident, to pursue lawsuits of their “extrauterine children.” This ruling that treated an embryo or gestating fetus as wrongful death of a child raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics
Even as Republicans claim their immunity proposal is a solution for clinics’ concerns they have failed to address the legal status of embryos created in IVF labs.
Meanwhile, Democrats have proposed a legislation stating that a human embryo outside a uterus cannot be considered an unborn child or human being under state law. They feel this is the only legal way to deal with the issue. Republicans have not brought the proposal up for a vote.
“I think there is too much difference of opinion on when actual life begins. A lot of people say conception. A lot of people say implantation. Others say heartbeat. I wish I had the answer,” said Melson, the bill sponsor.
