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Alabama lawmakers rush to give IVF doctors legal immunity
Not long after the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring that embryos created via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) are to be treated as human children under the state’s wrongful death statute, fertility clinics halted IVF procedures out of concern that they could face prosecution if embryos are discarded or destroyed. Now, state lawmakers have passed legislation to ensure IVF is protected.
The Washington Post and CBS News reported that bills passed both the state House and Senate. HB237 passed in a 94-6 vote, and would protect doctors performing IVF from civil and criminal liability; SB159 passed unanimously in the Senate, and would give fertility clinics the same protections as the House bill. Both bills will now head to the other chamber for a vote.
Alabama’s Supreme Court decision in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, Inc threw the state into confusion, even though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents angry that their embryos had been destroyed. In the lawsuit, several couples argued that the embryos should be considered people under the state’s wrongful death statute. Their embryos had been destroyed when a client was somehow able to access the facility and handle the embryos, resulting in their destruction. A lower court ruled that the embryos were not human beings, but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling in 8-1 vote.
That decision was praised by Live Action founder and president Lila Rose. “This ruling, which involved a wrongful-death claim brought by parents against a fertility clinic that negligently caused the death of their children, rightly acknowledged the humanity of unborn children created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and is an important step towards applying equal protection for all.”
Numerous fertility clinics quickly stopped IVF procedures out of an abundance of caution, concerned that they may face civil or criminal damages. Attorney General Steve Marshall then announced that he had no intention of prosecuting families or providers for using IVF in a statement.
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