What are the proposed bills in Alabama to resume IVF?

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - There have been five different bills in the legislature up for consideration that could protect patients and medical workers involved in the In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF, process.

In 2021, three couples sued for wrongful death after a patient wandered into Mobile Infirmary’s Center for Reproductive Medicine embryo lab and got a hold of several frozen embryo’s. The patient then dropped them on the floor and destroyed them.

A lower court dismissed the couples suits, but earlier this month the Alabama Supreme Court said there was a case because they ruled that frozen embryos are considered human beings. Fearing criminal prosecution of accidentally destroying an embryo, IVF clinics across the state paused services as they wait for further clarification.

So how can legislation fix this? A couple of lawmakers have some ideas.

Take Senate Bill 159. It was filed Tuesday by Senator Tim Melson, a Republican out of Florence.

The bill said “no criminal or civil action can be brought against groups or entities providing goods or services related to IVF...Except for an act or omission that is both intentional and not arising from or related to IVF services.” The bill is retroactive and would expire on April 1, 2025.

A twin bill, HB 237 has also been introduced by a Republican in the house.

Then, there’s House Bill 225. It was filed by Democrat Representative Anthony Daniels.

The bill said that “any fertilized human egg or human embryo that exists outside of a human uterus is not considered an unborn child or human being for any purpose under state law.”

Daniels and other House Democrats also filed HB 240, a constitutional amendment that would change a 2018 amendment that said “it is the public policy of the state to support and recognize the sanctity of unborn life. HB 240 would add a line saying “extra uterine embryo is not an unborn life or unborn child.”

Senate Bill 160 would also provide civil and criminal immunity to persons providing IVF services. But it is not retroactive and does not have an ending date.

United States Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth also introduced the Access to Family Building Act to protect IVF access nationwide.

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