The Alabama House voted overwhelmingly to protect providers of in-vitro fertilization from civil and criminal immunity on Thursday, following the state Supreme Court’s controversial ruling earlier this month that said fertilized embryos are children, leading some fertility clinics to pause IVF treatments across the state.
The GOP-controlled House passed the legislation in a 94-6 vote, with three abstentions.
Th House bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Terri Collins, protects people who provide “goods and services related to in vitro fertilization.”
The legislation would still need to be passed by the Senate and signed into law by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey.
The Alabama Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans, is expected to take up a companion bill later in the day on Thursday.
Almost two weeks ago, Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled fertilized embryos used as part of the IVF process are legally children. The ruling was a response to a lawsuit from couples who alleged the accidental destruction of frozen embryos at an Alabama fertility clinic constituted wrongful death of a minor. “All parties to these cases, like all members of this Court, agree that an unborn child is a genetically unique human being whose life begins at fertilization and ends at death,” the Alabama Supreme Court wrote in the ruling, adding there was no “unwritten exception” for fertilized embryos located outside the womb, including those required for in vitro fertilization. That controversial decision did not explicitly restrict IVF, but it left many wondering what the ruling would mean for individuals using the procedure to conceive and if there would be legal ramifications for clinics. In the wake of the decision, a handful of clinics suspended IVF treatments, including at the University of Alabama at Birmingham health system.
The surprise ruling also led many anti-abortion Republicans to express support for fertility treatment. Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social after the ruling: “I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby.” Trump also called on the Alabama legislature to “act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”
42%. That’s the percentage of Americans who have received or know someone who has received fertility treatments, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center study.