Alabama's GOP Governor signs bill to protect IVF after state Supreme Court ruling led centers to pause offering the treatment

Alabama Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed a law protecting in vitro fertilization providers after a state Supreme Court ruling said frozen embryos should be considered children. 

The state Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos are children and will be given the same protections under state law. The decision caused outrage from IVF providers and families.

Three major IVF providers in the state paused services out of a fear of prosecution because the ruling means centers could theoretically be sued for destroying an embryo.

The ruling could open the door to wrongful death lawsuits in all cases where embryos do not survive being thawed and transferred to the uterus, potentially sending doctors in the state fleeing elsewhere to practice medicine. 

'Alabama works to foster a culture of life, and that certainly includes IVF,' Ivey said in a statement on Twitter as she signed the bill protecting IVF on Wednesday. 

Alabama Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed a law protecting in vitro fertilization providers after a state Supreme Court ruling said frozen embryos should be considered children

The state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children and will therefore be given the same protections under state law, causing outrage from IVF providers and families

Three major IVF providers in the state paused services out of a fear of prosecution because the ruling means people could theoretically be sued for destroying an embryo

'I am pleased to sign this important, short-term measure into law so that couples in Alabama hoping and praying to be parents can grow their families through IVF.'

The bill passed the state legislature late Wednesday night said 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.'

The immunity provide by the new law would be retroactive but excludes pending litigation. Civil lawsuits could be pursued against manufacturers of IVF-related goods, such as the nutrient-rich solutions used to grow embryos, but damages would be capped and criminal prosecution would be forbidden.

IVF is a process in which eggs retrieved from the woman’s ovaries are fertilized outside of the womb and implanted in the woman’s uterus. Doctors typically fertilize as many healthy eggs as possible to give the woman the best chance of having a baby; unused fertilized eggs are frozen and stored.

Eventually, the unused embryos are discarded, though when depends on the clinic and what the patient needs.

With possible consequences for discarding the unused embryos, doctors may be barred from fertilizing eggs that won’t end up being implanted. That decreases  a woman’s chances of getting pregnant.

The bill passed the state legislature late Wednesday night said 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'

In February, the state Supreme Court ruled that three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their 'extrauterine children'

The Republican-led court ruled in favor of the landmark decision, including Chief Justice Tom Parker (pictured) who quoted the Bible and said the ruling would protect 'the sanctity of unborn life'

In February, the state Supreme Court ruled that three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their 'extrauterine children.'

The decision came in a lawsuit brought by a group of IVF patients whose frozen embryos were destroyed in December 2020 when a patient removed them from a cryogenic storage unit and dropped them on the ground. 

The Republican-led court ruled in favor of the landmark decision, including Chief Justice Tom Parker who quoted the Bible and said it would protect 'the sanctity of unborn life'.

'Human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God, who views the destruction of His image as an affront to Himself.'

'Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory,' Parker wrote.

The ruling, treating an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics. 

The court ruling recognizing embryos as children drew a backlash and patients saw appointments abruptly canceled or their paths to parenthood put in doubt. 

The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system paused all in vitro fertilization procedures following the ruling

The ruling, treating an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics

The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system paused all in vitro fertilization procedures following the ruling.

The hospital system made the call for fear of potential criminal prosecutions and lawsuits aimed at its patients and doctors in the wake of the ruling. 

In a statement, a UAB spokeswoman said they are 'saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF, but we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments.'

Alabama Fertility Specialist in Birmingham has 'paused transfers of embryos for at least a day or two,' said Penny Monella, the chief operating officer at the clinic.

The Center for Reproductive Medicine in Mobile also paused IVF services after the ruling.