Supporters of the Bill hailed it as a crucial step to allow families in Alabama to restart in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments that had been abruptly halted following a contentious Alabama Supreme Court ruling. The ruling had equated frozen embryos to children, creating a legal quagmire that threatened the viability of IVF services in the state.
Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed the legislation into law after it passed in a late-night session by lawmakers responding to widespread criticism and the disruption of services at several of the state’s largest fertility clinics. Doctors from at least one clinic announced their intention to resume IVF services shortly after the Bill was signed.
“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,” Governor Ivey stated, emphasizing the relief this law would bring to many families in the state.
Alabama Governor (Credits: Anchorage Daily News)
The Alabama Legislature, dominated by Republicans, chose to support the immunity proposal to address the clinics’ immediate concerns.
However, they avoided addressing the broader legal status of embryos created in IVF labs, leaving the issue potentially unresolved in the long term.
The Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which allowed three couples to pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children” after their frozen embryos were destroyed, prompted major IVF providers to pause services.
The new law provides immunity to providers from prosecution and civil lawsuits related to the “damage to or death of an embryo” during IVF services, immediately enabling clinics to resume operations without the threat of legal action.
Patients and doctors had pleaded with lawmakers to find a solution, highlighting the emotional and logistical turmoil caused by the sudden halt in services.
Dr. Mamie McLean from Alabama Fertility, one of the affected clinics, expressed optimism about resuming services and the potential for more pregnancies in the state.
However, not all lawmakers supported the Bill. Republican Senator Larry Stutts, an obstetrician, criticized it as an “IVF provider and supplier protection Bill” that failed to protect patients and placed a financial value on human life.
House Democrats proposed legislation to clarify that a human embryo outside a uterus should not be considered an unborn child or human being under state law, but Republicans did not bring this proposal to a vote.
The current crisis in Alabama stems in part from an anti-abortion amendment added to the state constitution in 2018, which declared the state’s recognition of the “rights of unborn children.” This amendment has contributed to the legal complexity surrounding IVF and the rights of embryos in the state.
