Alabama lawmakers are facing immense pressure to restart invitro fertilization services in the state's advanced legislation to protect providers from the fallout of a Supreme Court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children.
Committees in the state Senate and House approved two identical bills on Tuesday that would shield providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the "damage or death of an embryo" during IVF services.
After the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling last month, three major IVF providers paused services due to the liability concerns it raised.
Lawmakers hope to give final approval Wednesday and send the legislation to Gov. Kay Ivey to be signed into law. The immunity legislation is on the fast track to reopen clinics and assess whether additional action is needed.
"The problem we are trying to solve right now is to get those families back on track to be moving forward as they try to have children," said Rep. Terri Collins, sponsor of one of the bills.
How Did The Supreme Court Ruling Come About?
According to a court ruling, three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their "extrauterine children," reported The Associated Press.
The ruling ultimately treats an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, however raises concerns about civil liabilities for clinics.
The court was immediately met with criticism as groups across the nation questioned a ruling recognizing embryos as children. Alabama patients revealed their scheduled embryo transfers were being abruptly canceled leaving them reconsidering their paths to parenthood.
A couple who had transferred frozen embryos to Alabama upon their move from New York, watched as the Senate committee voted.
"We've been working up to getting ready to try again. We still have embryos from our prior cycle, which we did in New York. We transferred them here. We can't use them. We're on hold," Beth Davis-Dillard said. "I'm 44, so time is limited. We don't have unlimited time to wait. We really want to give it a try and see if we can have another baby."
"It just feels like our rights are being restricted," she continued.
The legislative proposals state that "no action, suit, or criminal prosecution for the damage to or death of an embryo shall be brought or maintained against any individual or entity when providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization."
Alabama Fertility in Birmingham has canceled around 35 frozen embryo transfers in the 12 days since halting IVF treatments, but hopes to resume procedures as early as Thursday or Friday, said Dr. Mamie McLean.
"We are so hopeful that this bill will provide immediate, complete, and permanent access to IVF treatments in Alabama," she said, "We cannot wait to celebrate with our patients. Honestly, we can't wait to do the first embryo transfer, we can't wait to see the first positive pregnancy test ... it holds even more meaning than it did before."
In a statement released by The American Society for Reproductive Medicine and obtained by CNN, the document stressed that without legislation to address the issue of whether a fertilized egg is legally considered a person, IVF providers are still vulnerable.
"We believe these bills will not provide the assurances Alabama's fertility physicians need to be confident they can continue to provide the best standard of care to their patients without putting themselves, their colleagues, and their patients at legal risk," the statement read.
