Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a bill to protect providers of in vitro fertilization from potential civil and criminal liability late on Wednesday, just weeks after a state Supreme Court ruling that said frozen embryos are unborn children forced major providers to halt the procedure in the state.
File Photo: Some fertility clinics in Alabama said they will resume IVF treatments after the bill ... [+]
Announcing she had signed the legislation into law, Ivey said she was “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.”
The new law grants protection to IVF providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for “damage to or death of an embryo” while conducting the procedure.
A spokesperson for the University of Alabama at Birmingham issued a statement thanking the lawmakers and governor for the legislative move, saying it would allow it to “restart in vitro fertilization treatments.”
The spokesperson added that while UAB was “moving to promptly resume IVF treatments,” it will continue to “advocate for protections for IVF patients and providers.”
Another provider, Alabama Fertility, told NBC News that the new law “provides the protections that we need to start care — or resume care, really.”
Infirmary Health Systems and the Center for Reproductive Medicine, the provider at the center of the case that led to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, said it does not plan to immediately resume IVF services. In a statement to the New York Times, the healthcare provider said it believes “the law falls short of addressing the fertilized eggs currently stored across the state and leaves challenges for physicians and fertility clinics trying to help deserving families have children of their own.”