Alabama Enacts Legislation to Protect IVF After State Supreme Court Ruling
- March 08, 2024
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed March 6 legislation aimed at reassuring providers and patients that they won’t face legal liability for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments following a state supreme court ruling that frozen embryos are children for purposes of statutory wrongful death actions.
“Alabama works to foster a culture of life, and that certainly includes IVF,” Ivey said in a statement posted on X. “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 to resume services immediately,” the statement said.
The Alabama Supreme Court’s decision last month that frozen embryos are “extrauterine children” under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act sparked widespread concerns about conducting fertility treatments in the state. Shortly after the decision, the University of Alabama at Birmingham health system and other fertility clinics suspended IVF treatments.
The legislation (SB 159), which Ivey called a “short-term measure,” provides civil and criminal immunity for “death or damage to an embryo” related to IVF. It also provides criminal immunity to manufacturers of goods used to facilitate IVF.
University of Alabama at Birmingham health system and at least one of the fertility clinics indicated they would resume IVF treatments following the legislation's enactment, according to published reports.