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(The Guardian) Alabama governor signs IVF protection bill into law
Alabama lawmakers moved quickly to approve new legislation that to protect IVF providers from the fallout of a court ruling that found frozen embryos have the rights of children under the state’s wrongful death law.
Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, signed the bill into law on Wednesday night. The law protects providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution in the event of “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services. In a statement after signing, Ivey, a Republican, said: IVF is a complex issue, no doubt, and I anticipate there will be more work to come, but right now, I am confident that this legislation will provide the assurances our IVF clinics need and will lead them to resume services immediately.
The bill gives legal protection for fertility clinics, at least three of which paused IVF treatments after the state’s supreme court ruled last month that three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits.
Some Alabama fertility clinics that paused IVF services last month have said they will resume services after state lawmakers approved new legislation to protect IVF providers from potential civil and criminal liability.
The bill “provides the protections that we need to start care – or resume care, really,” Dr Janet Bouknight, an IVF provider at Alabama Fertility, told NBC News. The clinic is planning to resume services this week.
The state’s largest health care system, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also said it would restart IVF services. In a video statement, Dr Warner Huh, chair of the UAB department of obstetrics and gynaecology, said: While UAB is moving to promptly resume IVF treatments, we’ll continue to assess developments and advocate for protections for IVF patients and our providers.
Republicans in the state legislature proposed the immunity bill as a way to get clinics reopened, but have refused to take up a bill that would address the legal status of embryos. For that reason, some legal experts and reproductive rights advocates have warned the bill does not go far enough.
Barbara Collura, president of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, said in a statement on Wednesday evening: While we are grateful for the actions of Alabama legislators, this legislation does not address the underlying issue of the status of embryos as part of the IVF process – threatening the long-term standard of care for IVF patients. There is more work to be done.
Alabama lawmakers moved quickly to approve new legislation that to protect IVF providers from the fallout of a court ruling that found frozen embryos have the rights of children under the state’s wrongful death law.
Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, signed the bill into law on Wednesday night. The law protects providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution in the event of “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services. In a statement after signing, Ivey, a Republican, said: IVF is a complex issue, no doubt, and I anticipate there will be more work to come, but right now, I am confident that this legislation will provide the assurances our IVF clinics need and will lead them to resume services immediately.
The bill gives legal protection for fertility clinics, at least three of which paused IVF treatments after the state’s supreme court ruled last month that three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits.
Some Alabama fertility clinics that paused IVF services last month have said they will resume services after state lawmakers approved new legislation to protect IVF providers from potential civil and criminal liability.
The bill “provides the protections that we need to start care – or resume care, really,” Dr Janet Bouknight, an IVF provider at Alabama Fertility, told NBC News. The clinic is planning to resume services this week.
The state’s largest health care system, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also said it would restart IVF services. In a video statement, Dr Warner Huh, chair of the UAB department of obstetrics and gynaecology, said: While UAB is moving to promptly resume IVF treatments, we’ll continue to assess developments and advocate for protections for IVF patients and our providers.
Republicans in the state legislature proposed the immunity bill as a way to get clinics reopened, but have refused to take up a bill that would address the legal status of embryos. For that reason, some legal experts and reproductive rights advocates have warned the bill does not go far enough.
Barbara Collura, president of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, said in a statement on Wednesday evening: While we are grateful for the actions of Alabama legislators, this legislation does not address the underlying issue of the status of embryos as part of the IVF process – threatening the long-term standard of care for IVF patients. There is more work to be done.
